Kill Or Be Killed
by boomer4ever
Summary: *Rewritten* Boomer is separated from his brothers at a young age and trained for a fated meeting. Circumstances push him and his brothers together and it's up to Brick and Butch to fix things. Can they heal the damage done by HIM? Ten years is a long time, and people change. Just how long will they keep control of their own lives? Did they ever even have control?
1. Separation

The city of Townsville! A city of peace and harmony where even on these quiet, calm nights villains will lay down their weapons and allow the citizens a good night's rest…

Or not. Who would be making noise like this at this hour?

The heavy sounds of shouting and hollering reverberated off the walls of the small broken down shack. It was fitting however for the dark atmosphere of the forest, trees twisting in all directions, full moon out. The loud banter however broke it down and you could make out the familiar voices of Townsville's most notorious villains.

Most of which the noises came from Mojo Jojo himself.

"And that is why I, Mojo Jojo is a complete and utter genius. That of course means that none of you, pathetic and whiny 'villains, should consider yourselves greater than the great and infamous Mojo Jojo-" his rambling deep voice was cut off by a tomato being chucked at his head. He immediately stopped and stared blankly at the one who threw it.

"Hehe, for such a _talented_ genius, you sure are a sucker for fruits," Ace grinned, tossing another tomato idly. The other villains, including the rest of the Gangreen Gang, Fuzzy Lumpkins, the Amoeba Boys, Medusa, and any other major rival of the girls all burst out in laughter, some even holding their sides at the joke.

Mojo was fuming then and opened his mouth to start shouting again at the group of drunk monsters, mostly to complain about their cramped 'meeting', though he was stopped when another deep, feminine chuckle echoed loudly around the group.

Mojo already felt anxious the moment the strange pink clouds twirling and forming across the room. He was surprised he could breath no problem with the smoked surrounding him. Instead he found himself focusing more on the menacing yet mocking laugh when the thin body of the devil himself appeared.

HIM himself was standing in the middle of the partying group, a smug grin plastered on his face. His golden eyes latched onto Mojo's form as the monkey wiped off the rest of the tomato, avoiding eye contact.

"Well, well, it seems our monkey friend can't handle what these whelps dish out. How disappointing." He mocked to which the other just grumbled.

He focused his attention back to the rest and waved his arm out extravagantly.

"Now, I'm sure you're all dying to know why I've called you all here," he said. A few nods and raising of glasses affirmed this.

"You see, I have finally found the way to get rid of those miserable Powerpuff Girls." This gained suspicious looks and raised eyebrows. He raised a claw to stop any questions.

"I'm sure you all have your concerns, but trust me. First off, I know it will be hard, but… we all need to leave." Instantly they were all shouting out disagreement, even a tomato or two was thrown, which he easily dodged of course. He sent a quick glare at a nonchalant Ace.

"Ahem," he coughed and grabbed their attention again.

"Like I said, you won't like it. Anyways, we all need to evacuate the city. And you know why? Because, who would still train and stay strong if you never had an enemy to deal with? Surely, none of you simpletons would. And neither would a group of silly little girls."

Realization dawned on their faces and Medusa laughed.

"So what are you suggesting? That we all run with our tails between our legs and wait and hope those girls will let their guard down enough and attack? The last time we all rebelled against them it was still a complete failure. They still have powers you know." Her hesitation was well said, and the other monsters nodded in agreement.

HIM once again chuckled.

"You are right my dear Medusa. Who around here is strong enough to stay on level ground with those girls?" He wondered aloud. He could see Mojo huff in the corner. He thought back to their discussion before the meeting and was gleeful to see the obvious discomfort on the monkey's face.

The rest just scratched their heads in wonder.

"Well I reckon' it's none of us, huh? I shoot them gals and they just keep on comin'," Fuzzy spoke up, running a paw along his rifle.

The Gangreen Gang all muttered to each other, Billy making a comment before being punched in the shoulder by Ace.

The Amoeba boys were only quiet, thinking about the girls biggest rivals. Surely none of them in the room, right? None of them had really come close to finally putting those brats in their place.

HIM was about to continue when the door slammed open, followed by the sound of trumpets playing and a soft red carpet rolled into the shack.

In strutted Princess Morbucks, a smug smile on her small freckled face. She posed at the end of the carpet and loudly announced herself. "Hello everyone! I know you all must have been so worried about me not making my appearance yet, but what can I say? A late entrance is a fashionable entrance. So what are all you dopes going on about at this 'top secret meeting'?" She pinched her nose and glared at everyone. "And in a pigsty like this?" She commented in disgust.

Fuzzy pointed his rifle at her. "My shack isn't a-a pig pen you lil' brat!" He already hated her guts.

Princess only shrugged him off and slammed the door behind her and waltzed further in.

Mojo was already fuming.

"WHY did we invite this brat? All she wants is to be part of those pathetic Powerpuff Girls? There is no way that I, the great Mojo Jojo will allow such blatant disobedience!" He marched forward and grabbed her by the dress, ready to throw her out when she screeched and slapped his hand away.

"DO NOT TOUCH ME MONKEY FREAK!" Her face was twisted in disgust. "I do not have anything to do with those goody-goody Powerfluff girls! They refused my obvious direction and willingness to join, so now I want to make them pay! No one says no Princess Morbucks!"

Mojo's eyes were already twitching at her outburst. Princess huffed. "And then I tried to join those Rowdyruff Boys but they rejected me too! Those jerks!" She stomped her foot and crossed her arms.

HIM grinned and decided to speak. "Well, looks like someone finally guessed the right villains~"

Instantly they all stopped their grumbling and focused back on him. Princess just looked confused.

"While we're all on our little retreat, we will also be training the boys. The Rowdyruff Boys, thanks to my brilliant efforts, are the most able to side off with the girls. They're on even ground. Once those pesky puffs relieve their efforts and lower their guard enough, we can finally send our boys over and they'll gladly take things over from there."

He explained quickly enough to where even Princess and the others all smirked when they fully digested the plan.

Ace leaned against the wall, his pleasure evident. "Heh. Not bad a plan, actually. I think I could get behind this. When you wanna do this?"

HIM tapped his chin in thought. "Well, I was planning on finishing this by tonight. Though we do need to find a proper place to reside, so tomorrow night I want all of you to be ready and meet back here."

They all agreed and with that, the meeting was over.

…

It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming. On days like these, kids like us… eh, wait, sorry, wrong fandom.

Either way, it was a gorgeous sunny day, sparing no thought of gloom or dissatisfaction. Except maybe for the candy store owners who were just robbed.

The shrill ring of the bell rang loudly, and could be heard across the first few blocks. Snickering was heard before a group of three very familiar boys was seen landing a mile or two away, each with a sack of money and a bag of candy.

"Man, robbing candy stores was a great idea. I'm so glad I thought of it!" The redhead of the group grinned as he popped a piece of chocolate in his mouth.

"You're so smart Brick!" The raven haired boy commented as he sucked on a sucker. The blonde next to them was just rummaging through his bag, frowning in discontent.

"Aw man! I didn't get a jawbreaker!" He complained loudly.

Brick smirked and pulled out a blue and purple spotted ball of sugar.

"Oh, you mean this? You want one?" He asked his blonde partner, who eagerly nodded, tongue hanging out of his mouth in excitement.

He jumped for the candy that was held out, but just as he was about to grab it, the other pulled his arm back just in time, causing the boy to stumble and fall flat on the ground.

"Ha! I never you could have one, idiot!" Brick mocked and put the jawbreaker in his mouth as well as tauntingly as possible.

"You really as dull as dirt Boomer!" The other laughed as he munched on his candy.

Boomer stood back up and pouted as he rubbed his forehead. "I am not Butch! And no fair! You cheated!" He whined and Brick simply shrugged.

"It was never a game, Sherlock." Before he could further torment his brother, Butch pointed ahead of them with hate-filled eyes.

"Look, it's those goody two shoes'!" He shouted and the other two looked as well. Sure enough, the Powerpuff Girls, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup landed just a few feet from them, stern glares set on their faces.

"Drop those suckers, suckers!" Bubbles spoke first, blue eyes right on them.

"That's right! Give back that money and candy, boys!" Blossom was next.

"Or else you get the snot beat out of ya!" Buttercup punched her fist.

"No way pinky, this stuff belongs to me!" Brick claimed. His brothers glared. Hard. "Heh, I mean this stuff belongs to us. Jeez." He looked back at the girls, the three getting into fighting positions.

"I don't care who you _think_ all this belongs to- the fact is you stole it!" The ginger girl shouted and pointed at them accusingly.

"Yeah!" Buttercup agreed. "Plus, I have something better for ya! A knuckle sandwich!" She cracked her knuckles then.

"Give up or else!" Bubbles warned, but the boys only laughed.

"Alright, let's just see how badly you'll fail!" Brick and the others dropped their loot and immediately lunged for the girls, who retaliated as well. Brick made the first attack and punched Blossom in the face who skidded across the ground and into the neighboring park.

Boomer punched Bubbles in the stomach, who reciprocated by kicking him in the chest.

Butch was ruthless already and threw Buttercup into a building close by and smoke was sent everywhere.

Brick grabbed Blossom by the hair, but she remembered last time and dug her heels in the ground, turned, and sucker punched him in the eye.

"Ugh! You little-" Brick let go and while clenching his swollen eye shut began to rapidly punch her in the stomach.

Buttercup escaped from the rubble and through a few energy disks at her counterpart, who only formed his green shield in response, deflecting all of them.

Boomer was already breathing hard as him and Bubbles continued in their hand-to-hand combat, but managed to land a blow or two to her midsection. She groaned each time but screamed loud, her wails piercing everyone's ears. Boomer stumbled back and crouched low, trying to block out the sound. Once she was done, he got right back up and continued the fight.

Things continued like this, blow after blow being sent as the two groups fought hard. However, after a while, the girls noticed they were being pushed back. Eventually they paused in the fight, the girls breathing heavily.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Buttercup shouted in frustration as she acknowledged the fact that they were losing ground.

Brick smirked at her.

"What? You jealous our training is paying off? Are the little sissies getting tired?"

"How pathetic. I thought they'd be tougher, but looks like they're all talk and no show." Butch sneered, especially glaring at Buttercup who glared back with just as much hate.

"You girls are dumb!" Boomer said and crossed his arms in satisfaction. His brothers groaned and face palmed.

"Dude. Seriously. Did you have to say that?" Butch peered at him, disappointment evident on his young face.

"Whatever. Let's just finish this!" Brick commanded and as soon as he spoke the three launched back at the girls and surprised them. Punch after punch and kick after kick was thrown, and each one did more and more damage on the defending girls.

Bubbles even started whimpering as she barely deflected a hit from Butch. Buttercup snapped at the sound and screamed. She forced her eyes open and sped forward, pulled her arm back, and punch each boy. Hard. They were thrown back a bit, but regained their footing.

She flew at them, but rather than attack started to circulate around them, faster and faster. She increased in speed every second until she was just a green blur. The boy weren't even visible anymore. Wind erupted around her, blowing back the park swings and the trees leaves.

"Blossom, what is B-Buttercup doing?" Bubbles sniffled slightly but continued to watch in awe.

Blossom thought for a moment before it dawned on her.

"I know!" She perked up, letting her arms down by her side, Bubbles following. "Buttercup has created a vacuum of sorts. She's rotating around the boys at just the right speed to the point where either two things will happen. One: she's going to take away their oxygen entirely, or two: she'll produce just enough wind and air pressure to the point where the boys will have too much oxygen intake!" She explained. Bubbles looked lost.

Blossom sighed. "She'll either give them too little or too much air. They won't breath." Bubbles "ooohhh'ed" at that.

Boomer was first. He crumbled to his knees as he coughed violently. He was already trying to force himself the breath normally, but he was only gasping out, eyes widened in fear.

Right after him did Brick and Butch fall, the two others struggling as well. They clutched at their throats or chests and were groaning in pain, eyesight fading.

Bubbles noticed this and she found her resolve. She planted her feet and screamed at the top of her lungs, "BUTTERCUP!"

Just a second later the whirlwind stopped and Buttercup floated there panting and giving her blonde sister a look that just screamed, 'the f*ck bro?'

"The heck' Bubbles? You nearly blasted an eardrum!" She winced.

Bubbles just sent the boys a look as they quickly regained their composure and started to fly away. Once they were a good fifteen feet in the air Brick laughed.

"See ya later Powerpukes! We'll get you for this!" And they bolted away, each signature color of red, blue, and green leaving a trail behind them.

"Cowards!" Buttercup yelled after them.

Blossom just sighed in resignation. "Come on, let's just return all this candy and money."

…

"Ugh I swear I hate those stupid girls so much!" Brick groaned as they stumbled into the laboratory.

Butch only punched his fist with his teeth clenched. "We'll get them next time! We'll make em' pay!"

Boomer smirked and crossed his arms. "They're gonna be runnin' away like little chickens!" He was promptly ignored.

"Well first things first I just wanna sleep now." Brick yawned at just that moment and he only gave the lab an annoyed glance.

"I swear, I don't know why the heck we even agreed to staying here. Mojo's lucky we haven't destroyed all his nerd stuff yet." He snickered and Butch joined him. Boomer caught up with tired eyes as he idly eyed the cold metal hallways they passed on the way to their temporary shared room.

…

It was time.

Mojo had to stop and pause to take a deep breath. He remembered why they were going through all this trouble anyways. HIM had told him.

"Those thoughtless creations of mine are too prideful. I, Mojo Jojo, shouldn't have to busy myself over such arrogant beings that I, Mojo Jojo, so foolishly 'll never agree to this, so this cursed ray should do the trick. Just hopefully they won't put up much of a fight when they awaken…" He monologued as he tiptoed to the boy's room.

He found the large metallic door, covered in graffiti such as 'Mojo sucz!' or 'RRB rulz!' Another scrawl read 'Boomer is cool!'

He growled at the poor handwriting but pushed it to the side as he slowly pushed the door open. Thankfully these doors don't creak.

He peered into the dark room and was greeted with faint snoring. Perfect. He carefully placed each booted foot into the room, being as quiet as possible.

He shifted his hand to behind his cape and pulled out a deep blue ray gun, small enough to fit in one hand with ease.

He crept closer to the three level bunk bed and got ready to aim the gun at the boys. A sudden shifting caused him to pause and widen his eyes as he quickly hid the gun back behind his back. He looked to the highest level as Brick sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Mojo? The heck are you doing here? Don't make us give ya another black eye…" His threat was empty, but still made his blood simmer. Such insolence-!

"I-I just came to check on you boys, that's all. I haven't seen you all day!" He tried to sound as caring as possible as his voice pitched a little.

As they were talking, Butch had stirred awake as well and watched Mojo with weary eyes. He glared at the response.

"We're not babies you know," he reminded. Mojo nodded, a smile on his face as he appeared understanding.

"I know, I know. But I just worry, OK?" He even changed his speaking pattern for this. Those wretched boys better believe this terrible act…

But it was just at that moment that Brick caught sight of the gun behind Mojo's back as he shifted on his feet. His eyes widened and he immediately jumped from the bed and pulled Butch with him, who was in the middle.

"Get outta here!" He shouted and threw a punch at the monkey, but was quickly stopped when Mojo growled, whipped out the ray, and shot at him. He landed to the floor with a grunt. Butch charged at him as well, eyes dead set. He jumped and dodged a shot, sent a kick at Mojo, who avoided it, but then shot him again when he landed on the floor.

Butch groaned in pain as his mind became hazy. He stumbled and fell beside Brick, who was already asleep. His eyes were already threatening to fall. He looked up at Mojo anger when he suddenly felt a surge of energy. He forced himself up with shaking legs as Mojo glared at him. He leaned over and slung Brick over his shoulder.

"Y-you jerk… what the heck do you think you're d-doing?" He was on the verge of passing out. His whole body suddenly felt like lead and his vision was going blurry.

Mojo just eyed him coldly. "You're own pride did this."

He stepped forward to grab the boys, but Butch jumped out of the way and decided to take the chance and run. He quickly adjusted his brother and bolted. He tried to bring himself into the air as he sped into the hallway, but found he couldn't fly.

He didn't know why the heck he couldn't fly, but damn he had to get out of there before Mojo freaked and did whatever creepy stuff he was planning to do. Thank goodness they all escaped- he skidded to a halt.

Butch looked back and groaned.

"Boomer!" He shouted. He debated going back for the dummy, but decided against it. He can handle this on his own. Right?

He continued to run, forcing his body to stay awake and as alert as possible, silently hoping for his brothers to wake up.

…

Boomer slowly opened his eyes when he heard a distant shout. His vision was blurry for a moment but eventually focused in the dark room on the form of… Mojo? He sat up and rubbed his eyes as he looked around.

"Brick? Butch?" He focused back on his 'father'. "Mojo? W-what happened?" He asked tiredly.

Mojo glared at the ground as he refused to make eye contact.

"You're coming with me." With that, a blast of light was pushed from the ray and hit Boomer square in the chest.

He stared at Mojo with shocked eyes that soon started to close. He felt his strength leave him and he slumped over, Mojo catching him and throwing him over his shoulder.

The overgrown monkey sighed. As he tucked the gun away and held the boy tight over his uniformed shoulder.

"Let's just get this over with."

Mojo ran away.

* * *

Anyone notice the Undertale references? I'm trash. Sorry. Well, I hope ten pages is alright for you guys. Better than the original I hope. Tell me what you think!


	2. Decisions

He felt hot. His skin was burning and he felt more uncomfortable than ever before. When did his bed get so… hard? And since when could he hear those annoying birds so well?

"Bro. Get up." Ugh. Butch. He wanted to just shove the nuisance, but couldn't bring himself to move.

He felt his brother shove him a little. He grimaced.

"Leave me alone." He buried his face more into the… what.

"Dude wake up. We've gotta go." His words were slurred slightly. He was about to open his eyes when he felt his face hit nothing but hard rock, but the sound of giggling made his whole body shoot up in a fighting stance.

The sunlight was absolutely horrifying. Brick immediately hissed and shut his eyes when they were so rudely assaulted with the summer sun. He stumbled for a moment but caught his footing. He forced his eyes open at hearing another giggle and felt his blood boil at the people in front of him.

"What HECK are those stupid girls doing here?!" He shouted. Blossom glared and crossed her arms.

"Stupid?! You're the one who fell asleep on a volcano!" Brick ground his teeth. He moved forward, not caring about his exhaustion as he just wanted to punch that smug look off her face.

He threw a punch, but it was way too slow. His counterpart simply stepped to the side and avoided his weak blow. She moved forward and gripped his wrist tightly. Brick struggled to get free, but it felt as if all his strength was gone.

"Alright boys, what's going on?" Blossom asked them. Butch simply stood to the side, shoulders hunched over. He shrugged before he kicked a pebble.

"Mojo got the jump on us." He barely muttered his reply. Bubbles tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

Brick just looked at him in confusion. "What? What do you mean Mojo-" it hit him like the stupid sun.

"Mojo!" He shouted, anger renewed. "That double crossing monkey freak! I'll get him for trying to beat us! That weirdo better be ready when I get to em'!" He thrashed and tried to break free even more, but Blossom only shot him a look that silenced him.

Buttercup laughed. "What? Did he finally kick you guys out? I'm surprised he had the guts."

Butch shook his head and knelt down on his haunches and rested his arms on his knees.

"He got Booms…" He mumbled.

That caught everyone's attention. Bubbles gasped. "Boomie? What happened?"

Brick groaned. "Of course. Of freaking course. He just had to get himself captured so we have to go and save his pathetic butt."

Butch frowned in thought. "I don't get it. Why'd he do it anyways? And what happened to our strength?" He wondered aloud. His mind was still hazy, and even they knew it was a big deal if not even Butch put up a fight against the girls.

"Alright. Great. Let's see what we can find. You guys are lucky we found you this morning. Who knows if you would have rolled off the edge or something." Blossom reprimanded as she looked over the edge of the mountain.

Bubbles was the first to race into the lab, which Brick just noticed had smoke flooding from the entrance. Butch went after her, followed by Buttercup, and then Brick and Blossom (who of which still kept a tight hold on the other).

As soon the the metal doors opened, everyone's faces were filled with complete shock. Moniters were nothing but static, control panels were sparking uncontrollably, any and all items in the huge space were destroyed. Butch growled and ran as fast as he could to the halls, and inevitably, towards their room.

Brick finally had enough of the girls' gawking and managed to yank his wrist free from its fleshy prison and run after his brother. "Butch!" He shouted. He heard the girls gasp and they flew after them.

He skidded to a halt when Butch ran into their small room. Now that it was daylight, he could clearly see that everything was also destroyed. The bed was in shambles, the small tv in the cell-like room was cracked and broken, and the lone desk was still erupting slight flames.

Butch kicked the bed and bit back a wince in pain at the sudden weakening he felt, even through his worn shoe.

Brick looked around the room, feeling like he was missing something.

"There aren't any windows here and the lights are off. How is it so-" he was cut off as something above him caught his attention. He looked up, and so did the other kids and he groaned.

"You have GOT to be kidding me." Just above his head was a large, gaping hole in the ceiling, allowing a ray of early morning sunlight cascade into the room. He could even hear birds. Stupid birds. His eye twitched and without thinking grabbed a shoe from his foot, aimed, and chucked it as hard as he could.

The shoe shot into the air, despite his lack of strength, and hit a bird flying above them, knocking it down with a broken caw.

"Serves you right!" He shouted and crossed his arms. Butch sighed.

"Not helping bro. Stupid bird, but still. Now you have no shoe." Brick felt even more aggravated at his brother's nonchalant attitude and spun towards him, marching over to the other.

"Don't you dare take the tone with me! All you're doing is acting like a stupid sour-puss!" He slightly shoved his brother, who only scowled.

"Quit actin' like you're so high and mighty. Dude, we just lost our powers. I honestly would rather die right now than deal with that doubled with those sissies back there."

"Heard that!" Buttercup piped in.

Brick turned to her, eye twitching again. "No one asked you, moron!" He narrowed his eyes and stalked towards her.

"You know, now that I don't have Boomer around, maybe I'll just use you as my punching bag instead!"

He pulled his arm back and got ready to hit her, but she was faster and had him pinned in a second.

"Don't touch me." She growled lowly and stood back up, dusting her shoulder off. Those brats' attitudes were really getting on her nerves.

"Look," she said, "you're brother just up and disappeared. If you guys care at all a little bit, then you'd actually try and do something other than argue!" She scolded. Blossom eyed her with surprise, evidently impressed with her sister's show of leadership.

Brick threw himself back up and was about to retort back at her, but he froze, mouth open. He thought for a moment before he spun back around and looked into the corner of the room.

"Ha!" He exclaimed and marched over the the wall beside him.

He pointed up to the corner, saying, "look, a camera! Mojo always was a worrywart so he had those annoying things installed." Blossom nodded but then sighed in frustration as Brick then tried to jump and reach the camera.

She shook her head and then floated up herself to grab the recording device. She landed back down calmly and smirked at her scowling rival.

"Alright, let's see just what happened here." She was glad to see that the recorder was still in working condition as she rewound the video clip to the night before.

She caught a glimpse of Boomer and immediately pressed play.

The clip showed Boomer waking up and wondering what had happened before being shot by the ray gun by Mojo. He was then kidnapped and his attacker shot another hole with another weapon of his into the ceiling and flew out using his trusty jetpack.

Next thing they know, explosions were set out all around the lab, fire set ablaze to the whole facility, lighting up the dead night sky.

Bubbles squeaked and covered her mouth at the sight while the others just watched in silence. Brick huffed and turned to look at the ground when she turned the video camera off. Blossom turned to the awkward boys and scratched her head in thought.

"Well, it looks like it definitely was a kidnapping. Do you know why he would do this? And even more why he would take your powers?" She asked in earnest. Brick grumbled and Butch just shrugged, seemingly apathetic. She sighed.

"Right. Well. You guys come with us." She said and went to grab her counterpart. They both jumped and backed away.

"Woah, what? Why?" Brick asked.

"That's all we've got. Let's just go find another home, bro." Butch muttered offhandedly.

Blossom shook her head. "You guys need to come to the lab with us. Maybe we can help you." She offered.

Brick scoffed, "oh yeah? Help us? I knew you girls were stupid, but this takes the cake!" He laughed.

"We're not doing this for you. We're doing it for Boomer," Bubbles said.

"Boomer?" Brick echoed. "Why the heck would you care about that dweeb? He's nothing!"

Buttercup looked ready to punch them both. "You guys are sick! He's your brother! You kinda have to care!" Brick shrugged, seemingly not interested.

"Look, we have better things to do than hang around with you goodie goodies and look for a dumb blonde. Let's get out of here, Butch." There were about to walk away and leave it at then when a heavy sigh reached their ears.

"Fine. How does food sound? We'll get you whatever." Blossom resigned.

Brick turned slightly and paused. "... Even McDonalds?"

Blossom nodded. "Even McDonalds. As much as you like."

…

Brick and Butch were idly sitting on a stone cold table eating their third round of burgers as the professor checked their heartbeats when the girls flew back down the stairs of their father's lab.

They flashed right by him, looking exhausted and worried.

The professor backed away from the munching boys and looked at them with his brows furrowed. "Any luck?" He asked.

They shook their heads.

"It seems that all of the villains in Townsville just disappeared! No matter where we look, they are absolutely nowhere!"

"Not even Princess," Buttercup cringed. Bubbles sniffled, tears welling in her big blue eyes. "I-I'm worried. What if they all got hurt?"

Blossom smiled at her. "Don't worry Bubbles, I doubt that's the case. Maybe they all just gave up?"

Buttercup grinned. "Yeah, they probably all just ran away with their tails between their legs!"

Butch laughed slightly, getting their attention.

"Ha, good one. If there's one thing I know, it's that those dumb ol' wannabe villains will never quit. It's pretty annoying," he spoke with a mouth full of hamburger and then he took another large sip of his soda.

Buttercup huffed. The professor smiled reassuringly at the girls. "Well I'm sure we can figure things out. Meanwhile, I do have some news for the boys," he turned to them, his expression already darkened.

Butch leaned back and the brothers exchanged glances.

"Boys," the professor sighed, "your powers really are gone. Whatever Mojo shot you with was some kind of extreme form of Chemical X." Suddenly a half eaten burger was chucked at his face. The older man couldn't dodge, so he just stood calmly as the burger slowly slid down his face, cheese and condiments leaving gooey trails.

"Ha! Good one doc! You really expect us to believe you? There's no way we're as weak as those pathetic normal people." Brick scoffed, but was cut short from his exclamation when he was elbowed in the gut. He choked out and held his side and looked up, shocked to see it was Butch.

"Butch! What the heck is wrong with you?! Quit it!" Brick ordered but Butch only shot a glare at him before he jumped from the table.

"Brick, you know we don't have powers! We haven't been able to fly all day! And that stupid girl there kept you trapped like her dog!" Butch ground out, done with hearing his brother's constant denial of the situation.

Brick jumped off as well and trembled, eyes blazing. "You- I am not her dog!" His punch was swift and quick, and landed a solid hit on the raven's cheek. He fell to the floor before he got on his hands and knees, stuck a leg out, and knocked the redhead from his feet. He landed with a grunt and Butch quickly got up and backed away. He glared at the stunned girls and professor.

He looked back at Brick. "I say we actually do something and find that stupid monkey ourselves. If he doesn't give us our powers back we'll just beat the cure out of em'!" He punched his fist. His head turned back to their counterparts when he heard a snort, followed by a chorus of snickers and giggles.

"Oh yeah," Buttercup taunted, "Mojo is definitely going to give powers to a bunch of little boys!"

Blossom smirked. "You guys have no chance. He took the for a reason, just trying to punch him won't do anything."

Bubbles joined in as she giggled. "Plus, you guys don't even know where he is!"

Butch stomped forward and was about to argue, but bit his tongue when he heard Brick laugh as well. He looked back and saw his brother stand up, a lopsided grin on his face.

"Looks like those stupid girls just put you in your place. Try a little harder next time, ok?"

Butch balled his fists and started to twitch as he felt his anger boil up, urging him to start another fight. Something, anything, to get his pulsing energy out.

"... Whatever." He crossed his arms and looked away.

A cold silence passed over the room before the professor caughed lightly. He stepped forward, a sheepish smile on his slim face. "Y-you know, I would be willing to house you boys for the time being until we can find your brother…"

This got Brick's attention. He looked up, brow raised. "Until we find Boomer? Hah! Why do all of you seem to care so much about him? He'll be fine! He's tough!"

The professor frowned. "Brick, you're brother may be strong, but in what way? He's been separated from you two. Who knows how he's faring?"

"He's 'faring' fine. He's a Rowdyruff Boy, not some whimpy lam-o girl." He sneered and the girls all glared at him, ready to fight. The man raised a hand to signal for them to stop and he looked back at the boys. His vision shifted to Butch.

"Butch? What do you think? You boys will have food, shelter, and maybe I can even work on an antidote once you're ready." Butch perked up at this.

"Uh-"

"Hey!" Brick shouted and they turned to him. "He doesn't make that choice! I do! I'm the leader!" Butch sighed and turned back to the taller.

"Yeah, he is the leader. Can't argue with that."

Blossom decided to intervene and stomped over. "Brick. Let Butch decide for once. We already know you don't care what happened to Boomer, but maybe Butch does? You don't have to stay here."

Buttercup shrugged. "Usually we'd think the prof. is crazy, but if he thinks you guys should stay, then I'll listen. You wouldn't get this chance often."

"This is for Boomie!" Bubbles pitched in.

Brick looked ready to throw a tantrum.

Butch smirked and looked back at the professor. The man smiled.

"You'll give me food?" A nod.

"I might get my powers back?" Another nod.

"I don't have to be buddies with those girls?" Another nod, but this time less enthusiastic.

Butch shrugged with his hands behind his head. "Sure, I'll stay then."

Brick gaped. "What?!"

Butch eyed him. "What what?"

"You really are a moron! How could you agree?!"

"Dude, I get free food." Butch deadpanned.

Brick groaned and facepalmed.

"Fine," he snapped. "I'll just go and find Mojo myself!"

"Have fun with that."

"I will!"

"Good. Send me a postcard."

"I hate you."

"Yep."

A moment went by. Butch looked back at him. "Well?"

Brick stomped his foot. "Alright, I'm going!" He forced his body to move as he stomped his way past the group (not without rudely shoving every single one of them) and up the stairs. The girls looked at each other and they all climbed up the stairs as well, silently watching the young redhead. -Though Butch would never admit that he was much more interested in admiring the white sleek walls and large space of the cozy looking two-story house they were in.-

He marched to the door, jumped to grab the doorknob, and practically threw the door open. He was met with hard rain, hail, and a blast of lightning striking right by his feet. He jumped back, face full of angry disbelief.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

Butch smirked when the door was slammed.

"So? Ya gonna stay?"

A groan.

"Thought so."

…

Butch sighed as he looked into the bright room. A bunkbed to the right of the doorframe, a computer and desk in the left corner, a TV in front of the bed, and a bean bag chair by the bed frame.

He looked to his immediate right and saw a small night drawer as well. With a lamp with a spaceship pattern. Hm.

He slowly walked into the room, taking in the sun leaking in the the newly formed windows.

He heard his brother make an odd sound as he came shuffling in. He turned around to see the other curiously -observing- the many decorations of the room. The most they ever had was a small TV. Huh.

He grinned. "Like it Brick-y?"

A sharp glare was thrown at him. "Don't call me that. Ever."

"Man, someone's moody. Come on, we've got a new room!"

Brick gave him a look. "A room that's right next to the Powerpuff Girls! Why heck are we here again?"

He shrugged. "Free food. Powers. Maybe Boomer." He barely caught the look on Bricks face. It almost seemed… thoughtful? Hurt?

Before he could ask about it, he saw the girls appear in the doorway as well the professor. The professor smiled at them and put his hands on his hips. "You boys like it? I knew this extra room would come in handy. I tried my best, but most of this was from storage, so I hope everything is alright for now."

"It's cool. I mean look, a bean bag chair. How awesome is that?" He said somewhat sarcastically.

Blossom walked towards him, right past Brick to his annoyance, and stopped right in front of him. She held out her hands that were holding a small box.

Butch raised a brow at her hesitant look.

"Butch, I, uh, I kind of went through your old room and I found something. Huh? What could she have found? They didn't have anything…

"Hold out your hands." He grumbled slightly at the order, but otherwise obeyed.

She placed the box in his hands and he immediately tore the light blue and green wrapping paper off, eager to see the contents. He ripped the cardboard lid open and threw it to the floor. He froze as soon as he saw what was inside.

Inside the box was a picture frame. The picture was of the three brothers. It looked to be a sunny and bright day. The three were huddle together, Brick looking at the ground, a small blush on his cheeks and arms crossed, Butch his a small smirk and a hand on his hip, and Boomer in between them, a large, bright and toothy smile of his face as he had both his arms around them.

Butch couldn't even remember what had happened that day. Boomer somehow had gotten a tooth knocked out, but he still looked so happy. He felt an odd feeling bubbling up in his chest, but ignored in in favor of nodding to Blossom.

"Um, thanks…" He mumbled as he walked over to the nightstand and placed the frame onto it. Brick had seen as well, and he quickly stomped out of the room, grumbling about stupid girls and stupid feelings and stupid Boomer.

Butch snickered. Maybe the tsundere really did miss him.

Suddenly his stomach growled and he walked past the group of his hosts.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" He asked. "I came here for food, so I'm gonna get some!"

…

It was dark. It was cold. No sound was available, and the feeling that he was somewhere alone with no one sent a sick feeling through his stomach. He already wanted to vomit.

His body was weak, but he managed to get his fingers to twitch. He tried to open his eyes, but something about to quiet made him want to keep sleeping. But a low chuckle made his mind reel. He knew that sound.

He forced his arms to move, despite how badly shaking they were. His joints ached terribly and his heart shuddered with the effort of just sliding his hands under him. He tried to push himself up and he slightly raised himself, but that was it.

More chuckling.

He urged his eyes to open. They were so, so heavy. Why couldn't he open them?

Slowly then. Slowly he felt his eyelids start to slide open. First he just saw shadows, but then he saw dark blue and black clouding around him.

Where was he?

He finally had his eyes all the way open, but no matter where he looked, he couldn't pinpoint where he was.

"B-Brick?" His voice was hoarse, and he could barely even himself. But still he tried again. "Butch?" This time it hurt and he winced, grabbing his throat.

Suddenly the chuckling increased, and it was so haunting he felt shivers run down his small tired spine.

Then there he was in a puff of deep pink and red smoke. HIM.

His devilish eyes was locked on his frame, a sadistic smile already made itself home.

"Well hello, Boomer. How are you feeling?" He blinked in confusion.

"HIM? What are you doing here? Where are my brothers?" His voice wavered as he tried to seem bigger, but the other's looming height still make him shudder.

"Oh, your brothers? I'm sorry Boomer, but it looks like I have something to tell you." HIM lowered his voice and plastered on the fakest disheartened look that he could.

"Dear Boomer, it looks like your brothers… have been captured!" He cried woefully. Boomer gasped.

"What? No way! Who? I'll go and beat em' up!" He swung his fists in the air to prove his point. HIM repressed a smile.

"By none other than the Powerpuff Girls of course! Boomer, they need you now more than ever!"

Boomer looked determined, but his expression softened as he looked at his feet. "I-I mean my brothers are strong. Why would they need me? Can't you save them?" Then it came to him.

"Wait! Mojo was there when I woke up! What happened?" He had to ask.

HIM thought for a moment. "Mojo was simply there to save you. The girls were already in the lab and took your brothers. They're cruel, I always knew they were. They took your powers, all of yours, and they have the audacity to think you wouldn't have the guts to save them. Wouldn't you want to prove those little girls wrong?

Boomer's arms fell to his sides. "They… they think I won't?"

"They think you're weak. But, I believe that with enough training, then you can show everyone that you are strong- maybe even the strongest."

Boomer frowned. "Training? You'll help me save them? Really?" His blue eyes held so much hope. It made HIM want to laugh, but he held it in and simply nodded.

"W-well alright! I'll do it! I want to show Brick and Butch that I really can be cool and strong!" he punched the air, already feeling his heart pumping.

"And you will. Now, go to sleep Boomer. We will get started and explain the rest to you later." He looked confused at the words, but with a wave of his lobster claws, the blonde instantly fell asleep. He flicked his claw upwards and his small body disappeared.

The demonic monster sighed and slumped his shoulders. This would be a real experience, that's for sure. He felt a familiar rush of energy, and Mojo was there in front of him.

"I, Mojo Jojo, has heard about your discussion with the dumb one... Boomer has accepted?" He nodded.

"Yes, he has."

"Do you really think that the moron will actually be able to stop the great Mojo Jojo's old rival's creations?"

"Well we would have a better chance with the other two, but we lost them, remember? You're lucky you're still part of this mission. We can't show up in the town now. Although," he paused, "I am interested to see what sort of… motivation, may _encourage_ him."

Mojo blinked. "This is most an… interesting development. Ha! Now, I doubt that we will need those two. Less work for us now. Of course this was just an ingenious plan of mine! Boomer, no matter how idiotic, will be the strongest of us all!" He shouted with vigor. HIM had to admit he did feel a bit more determined now.

"Hm. Yes, well, we'll have to be patient. This training he will undergo will completely change things. But maybe I can still play a game of my own." His smile finally revealed itself, his sharp teeth glinted in the dark otherworldly space.

"Yes, this is perfect.

A game."


	3. Fated Meeting

"Butch I swear I will murder you where you stand!" A loud shrill scream could be heard across the whole campus. Students stopped and stared as two figures dashed across the front of the large modern school. Two green figures.

"You're gonna have to catch me first, greenie!" The one up ahead shouted back, a grin stretched across his face.

"Buuuutch!" 'Greenie' screamed. Suddenly, she could feel a burst of energy and flew forced herself to fly forward and tackle the one she was chasing.

Sadly the tackle ended up having them both landing and rolling into a tree.

The two groaned on the ground, both rubbing their heads. One in a plain forest green hoodie and worn jeans, the other in a light green tank top with camo pants. Her hair was to her shoulders and curled at the end and her counterpart had his hair slicked and spiked.

"Ugh, way to go BC. A great way to start off break." Butch mumbled as he stood up. BC, or Buttercup only glared at him and shot up as well, arm up to punch him in the head but stopped short and huffed.

"Hey, you're the one who wrote that fake love letter to Mitch! Mitch!" She growled at him and trembled in anger as an embarrassed blush spread across her cheeks.

Butch snickered. "I wouldn't have done it if you didn't trip me this morning into that mud."

"You had it coming," she retorted.

They looked over the front campus of the school, not surprised in the least of all the teenagers running and stumbling over each other out of the front doors. Some still gave them odd looks but shook it off and walked away.

"Hey you guys, what the heck was that about?! You can't just go and shove the principal out of the way in one of your chases!" A redheaded teen ran up to them, wearing a white button up and a red and pink checkered skirt and hair in a ponytail.

Buttercup stood by her and pat her shoulder. "Don't worry Blossom, we'll apologize next time."

"Next time meaning after winter break?" She deadpanned and Buttercup gave her a thumbs up.

"You got it sis!" She groaned.

Soon, the rest of the group arrived as well, most giving the two rambunctious teens exasperated looks.

"Butch, seriously? Did you really have to do that?" Brick asked as he crossed his arms, to which his brother only shrugged nonchalantly. The redhead boy was wearing a red t-shirt and black jacket and black pants, hair in a long ponytail, going once again with his uncaring facade.

"Gotta bro, it's part of who I am." He said.

"Annoying the crap out of me is part of you" She asked and he nodded, entirely serious.

"Yes, yes it is."

Bubbles giggled and fidgeted with her baby blue sweater and black leggings. Her hair was in the usual long pigtails but with blue and green ribbons. "He did have a point though. Didn't you like Mitch?" Buttercup just blushed heavily and sputtered.

"N-no! Well, yes, but we were kids! Fifth grade Bubbles! Can't you guys just let it go?"

"You did trip him into that mud puddle…" Blossom teased and Buttercup did a half groan- half scream at that.

"Fine! No more tripping! As long as you," she pointed at him, "don't make my life worse!"

"Haven't I already made it as worse as possible?" He smirked.

Brick gave him a look. "You could be smart."

He thought for a moment before he tensed up and punched the other in the shoulder. "Shut it!"

Buttercup laughed at the comment and nodded, "he is right actually. If you were smarter, my life would probably be hell."

Brick sighed before he looked up at the sky, noticing the dark clouds swirling above them in large masses. It was sunny at the start of the day, odd how there was no snow, but now it looked like the clouds and cold were back from their vacation.

"Speaking of hell, we're going to be there if we don't get home. You guys may have powers, but me and Butch are still pathetic. Let's get out of here," his expression was back to not caring, like usual, as he grabbed his brother by the arm and started dragging him to the direction of home.

The group then went on their way home, chatting, laughing, and teasing (mostly from Butch) and talking about plans for their break.

"You know, I still don't know how you did it, but I swear I will still beat you guys in chem!" Blossom huffed out, a pout on her face. Bubbles giggled and Brick smirked.

"And how will you do that? We've got you outnumbered; personally, and in grades. Good luck." He looked back in front of him.

"Chemistry is just easy to us Blossom. You don't have to be the best at everything!" Bubbles smiled sweetly at her sister.

Blossom rolled her eyes in response. "I won't give up without a fight, you know that." She playfully nudged the blonde with her elbow who nudged her back.

"Like Brick said, good luck!" She winked.

"Ah, come on! I just want to eaaattttt!" Butch whined from up ahead, having escaped from Brick a block or two back.

"We just ate moron!" She hollered to him.

"So? The stronger you are, the more calories you eat!"

Buttercup gasped and ran after him. "Well than I'll eat more than you!"

"As if, Butterbutt!"

"Shut up Butchie-boy!"

Blossom's eye twitched and looked at Brick, who had an equally exasperated expression contorting his face. "I'm surprised he even knows what a calorie is," he mumbled under his breath and Blossom laughed. Bubbles whined at the joke, saying it was 'mean' and then ran up to catch up with the speeding teens.

Brick sighed as he stretched his arms out behind his head. Things were going to be pretty good.

…

"Are you ready?" A familiar feminine voice. He could barely hear the low and steady (but nervous) breathing of the other in the void-like space they were in- the same that had greeted him and the other all those years ago. He let his eyes narrow as he could barely contain his 'excitement'.

"Sir. Status affirmative and ready for assignment." The voice that echoed back was young and scratchy, as if barely used. He nodded, pleased at his underlings response.

"Mission objective: Find Brick and Butch of the Rowdyruff Boys and retrieve them. If given opportunity, kill the captors Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup of the Powerpuff Girls." He knew it didn't need to be repeated, but he did find it quite useful to further hammer the boy's sole existential reasons into his mind. Once he was reminded, he would remember. And he would do it.

"Understood, sir," he figure nodded, head down. His eyes were covered by fine blonde hairs of his bangs. He was knelt to the floor, body ridged. Perfect.

'You have as much time as necessary." He smiled. "What again is your mission?"

"Mission objective: Find Brick and Butch of the Rowdyruff Boys and retrieve them. If given opportunity, kill the captors Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup of the Powerpuff Girls." Every word was repeated perfectly, it made his heart jump with glee- especially once he heard the monotone and empty voice of the other.

"Good." He raised his claw. " By the way, your brothers will be reluctant to leave those girls; they've been conditioned to think that they are not trapped and that they are 'heroes'." He growled.

"Stop it." He slammed his claw down and the boy disappeared, like his still figure was never there in the first place. HIM chuckled to himself as he waved his claw once again, a white bubbly cloud appearing before him. On it was the image of his trainee flying at high speeds and zipping through the loud harsh rain towards the city of Townsville.

"Hm."

…

Brick felt it first. His chest ached and constricted, as if his brother had just eaten 5 tubs of ice cream and sat on his ribs. What a great image.

He held his chest as he was eating dinner with his family. Bubbles was whispering to Blossom while Buttercup was telling their father about the school day, him nodded after every other shout of excitement or anger. Butch insisted on kicking him in the leg, causing more of his headache to worsen. And now his chest hurt like hell. Great.

Blossom was the first to notice him holding his chest and paused in eating her spaghetti. "Brick, you ok?" She asked.

He nodded and winced. "I just… don't feel good. It's fine." he frowned when everyone was looking at him and felt his temper rise.

"I'm fine, ok?! Jeez, quit staring!" He grumbled and slouched back in his chair. They all blinked at him but otherwise continued eating. Not without throwing him a curious glance once in awhile.

At least Butch quit kicking him.

Though he still couldn't shake off the weird feeling. The feeling that something was about to happen- to go wrong. Then the doorbell rang.

He immediately shot up from his seat and was all too eager to leave the dinner table in favor of answering the door. Maybe whoever is here would be the reason. He ran across the living and stopped at the door, taking a breath. Hopefully it wasn't just some crazed fan or something- though he had a feeling no one was that eccentric considering the weather. Another flash of lightning lit up the sky outside the windows when the doorbell rang again.

He opened the door and was greeted by… a boy? He was wearing a strange uniform; all black with a utility belt. A deep blue strip was on his left arm of the outfit and he wore deeb black combat boots over his matching pants. The boy himself made his stomach twist for some odd reason.

"E-excuse me? Are you B-Brick?" He tried to shake off the split second look of joy before his expression turned back to one of nervousness and slight fear.

"Yes? It's raining cats and dogs out here, do you need help?" He asked. He was sent an deeply confused look before the other observed the rain for a moment. His attention was back on him and he fidgeted with his jacket.

"U-um, you see, I'm a really big fan of you guys. You're really the coolest! I w-was just wondering if you could give me an autograph?"

Brick couldn't believe it. So there really were people that crazy. He peeked at the pouring rain again and sighed. The kid traveled all the way here, might as well give him what he wants.

"Sure. Who exactly do you want one from?" He asked as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. The other looked away.

"You and B-Butch." Huh. Alright. The taller turned around and called for his brother, "Butch? Get over here, some kid wants your autograph!" He heard coughing, a glass breaking, and then a undignified shout and curse. Brick winced and scratched his neck.

"Sorry about that. Butch can be pretty… rowdy sometimes." Silence. "Because we're the Rowdyruff Boys, haha… ha… ha…" Great job Brick. He was about to kick himself again in his head when he heard a small giggle escape the boy and found himself pleased at the small reaction of something other than outright anxiousness.

Suddenly Butch was there with a notebook and pen, a wide grin stretched across his face. "Hey there! You wanted an autograph? Coolio!" He went to sign his name, as well as add a few of his signature doodles and Brick couldn't help himself from facepalming.

He looked back at the boy and couldn't help that same pang of nervousness. He seemed familiar. But of who? His face had a bit of baby fat on his cheeks still and he had a few freckles scattered along his nose and cheeks, just below deep ocean blue eyes. His blonde hair was short and messy as his bangs were scattered this way and that, but he still had the smallest little ponytail that made it look neater. Though being wet from the rain may have been part of that.

"Oh, so who do I make this out to?" Butch idly asked.

He saw the smallest movement the boy made and caught a glimpse that made any comfortable feelings disappear.

"Butch, out of the way!" Brick shouted and lunged towards the smaller, barely catching his quick arm- he was holding some sort of small pistol.

Brick gripped it tight and held the blonde's arms behind his back, the other surprisingly still.

Butch jumped out of the way, but upon seeing the pistol chuckled. "You seriously don't expect that to work with the girls in the next room, right?" He threw the notebook and pen into the living room before cracking his knuckles.

"Alright, spill. What are you really here for?" His voice was low and serious. For once Brick agreed.

The other just exhaled before jumping up and flipping, incidentally breaking free from the redhead. Brick looked up and then behind him and outside the house to see the blonde standing in the yard, arms out, each holding a pistol.

He raised his arms parallel to the ground and shot once, twice. Brick and Butch flinched and held their hands up to defend from the inevitable fiery pain of the bullets, but were shocked to see Blossom and Bubbles appear in front of them, taking the bullets.

They were even more surprised instead of deflecting the bullets, the girls still absorbed them. They gasped in pain and their bodies froze.

Blossom grunted in effort as she looked at her body. "Bubbles!" She called, "I can't move!" Bubbles groaned too before sighing in defeat. "I can't either! We're paralyzed!"

Brick stepped back and into the house the moment he saw Buttercup bolt outside and in front of the blonde. He debated whether to find the professor or help the girls, and the scene of Buttercup fighting the blonde only made his anxiety skyrocket. He looked over though and saw Butch run for the girls, grabbing Bubbles and pulling her into the house. Butch sent him a look saying, "Brick, hurry! Get them inside!" He snapped out of his stupor and nodded and immediately went to pull Blossom in as well.

They carried them to the couch and laid them down, and the two smiled at them in appreciation. Brick looked around the house before Blossom. "Where's the professor?"

Blossom sighed and bit her lip- thank goodness she could at least feel and move her face.

"Brick, Butch, we've been wanting to give you something. I guess now's a good a time as ever." He was confused by this; what does it have to do with the professor?

Suddenly their 'father' came sprinting up the stairs, not before stumbling when a powerful blow and rumble shook them all. Brick looked outside and saw Buttercup barely dodging grazing bullets. Her movements were getting slow- they needed to hurry and do something!

Butch ran over to him the moment he saw the professor pull out a black case. He came to the living room, set the case on the coffee table, and opened it with a _click._ The two boys looked at the contents curiously.

"Um, prof., what is that for?" Butch asked wearily. The professor sighed before pulling out a syringe filled with a ruby red liquid. He looked at Brick, eyes hardened.

"Brick, I know you two have waited a long time for this- we've finally decided to give you what you came here for." The boy's eyes widened. They couldn't possibly mean-

"Take it, hurry." He urged the syringe to him and the redhead took it without hesitation. He rolled up his sleeve the moment Butch was given his. He looked at his brother, then at a struggling Buttercup who jumped out of the way of a punch, and then he stuck the needle into his arm. Butch followed suit.

He groaned; the pain was absolutely horrible. His body ached all over and it felt as though his bones were shifting and that his blood was literally boiling. His vision blurred for a moment as he fell to his knees. He kept his breathing calm and his mind focused. Butch was groaning too but a chuckle escaped his lips.

"Finally." He grinned at Brick from his also kneeling position. "I've been waiting for this for a long time." Instantly he bolted from the house, a dark green streak left behind him. Brick swallowed before he let the familiar memory and instinct of his powers take over.

And he flew.

It felt amazing, better than anything he had ever felt in his life. He felt free again. But it was cut short as he barely blinked and found himself in the rain, the droplets of freezing water pounding on his now super-powered skin.

He looked down to the ground and saw Butch quickly flying Buttercup into the house before flashing back, fists balled. He gave his brother a look and asked, "she ok?"

Butch nodded, no hint of his smile left on his face as he turned back to the blonde. "Hey, you!" He pointed at him. "Now you _really_ aren't getting an autograph!" He grinned maliciously, already bouncing in eagerness for the approaching battle. And then he was gone. He headed straight for the kid, fists pulled back, grin even wider then.

He sent a punch, fully expecting the boy to be surprised, but instead the blonde only sidestepped the hit. His blue eyes were dulled as he pulled out the pistol once again, but he didn't shoot. Butch looked at him as he got into a fighting stance. Brick preferred to stay in the air, but made sure to focus on what was going on.

"I don't want to hurt you. Just come with me." His words were calm, if not a little shaky.

"Oh?" Butch laughed. "And why the hell would we do that?"

The other only frowned, his grip tightened on the gun. "You've been here against your will, my duty is to retrieve you and bring you back to my master."

Brick perked up at this, curious on this 'master'. He decided to land near Butch, arms crossed. "Who is your leader? And what makes you think that we've been captured?"

The blonde cast him an unreadable look and sighed. "Classified information. But this is my hint for you: June 18th, 2005."

Brick froze when he heard that. What… what would that date have to do with- his eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Boomer…" He whispered. Butch gave him a confused look.

"Huh? What does this kid have to do with-" he paused, "-ooohhhh." His face darkened, rain sliding down his solemn face.

The blonde simply looked at them blankly. "Come with me."

Brick was half tempted to listen. What if this blonde had to do with his brother? A thought crossed his mind but he pushed it to the back of his mind, not wanting to even consider it.

"No. Tell us first who you really are. What…" he breathed, "what do you have to do with Boomer?"

The blonde was silent for a moment. The rain was still coming down hard, and Brick had to constantly blink to try and keep the water from obscuring his blurred vision. Then, he dropped his pistols and opened his arms wide. He had a large smile with the slightest gap in his teeth.

"I'm Boomer!" He exclaimed. Brick could see his body visibly shaking, but something in him snapped and forced him to move despite the action.

He saw red and he felt his anger boil over and swiftly punched the other in the face.

"Don't lie to me." He muttered quietly, not bothering to look at the others shocked face as he stepped back.

He was disheartened though when the hit barely fazed the other physically rather than emotionally. Brick's body straightened and he pointed at the other, eyes narrowed.

"As if I'd believe that! No way would he have the guts to go through with all this- especially attack us!" The blonde's eyes were wide with shock but then they lidded and his shoulders slightly slumped.

He looked back at him. "That means I'll just have to take you by force."

He flew forward and punched Brick in the stomach hard before he basically disappeared and reappeared in front of Butch and high kicked him in the jaw. He knelt low and grabbed his pistol before he made to shoot them both, but Brick had none of it.

He flew at his foe and threw punch after punch, but the other just dodged each hit. Butch then flew next to him and rapidly made hits and kicks as well, just making their attacker try harder to dodge- and dodge he did.

Brick was panting hard when he paused during their assault, surprised by the boy's lack of effort. Was he just that fast or were they just that weak?

Butch kept his barrage of attacks going, not caring who we was. Brick felt his annoyance rise however at his lack of thought in each hit. Was he even trying or just showing off?

Just then Boomer whipped out the pistol in front of him and before Butch could jump back or for Brick to try and help him, he pulled the trigger. Butch grunted and fell to the ground, obviously not expecting that.

"You... " His voice was low. "You shot me!" He shouted loudly, face torn with rage. He charged at the blonde despite it's paralysis effects.

His eyes burned with rage as he continued to kick and punch at him, the other has his eyes wide with clear shock written on his face.

"You-you shouldn't be moving!" He said and then shot the raven again but it only grazed his shoulder. Butch only got angrier and finally managed it. Things seemed to move in slow motion as he punched the smaller in the stomach. He hunched over and groaned and before he could blink another hard punch of his fist connected loudly with his cheek and forced their rival back.

Butch panted heavily and his fists were clenched. "Never, and I mean never, attack me or my friends again." His voice was full of venom and even Brick felt a small shiver go down his spine.

The boy only stood frozen in place, his left hand up and feeling his swelling jaw. He slowly looked up in surprise at Butch.

"How…?" Butch glared.

"I won't let some stupid bullet stop me." He slowly walked towards the blonde. His steps were quiet and his eyes were dead set on his now trembling form.

"B-Butch, please, y-you know me." He raised his arms again and aimed. "Don't make me shoot you again!" He shouted. His voice was cracking and Brick couldn't bring himself to move. That voice…

"Go ahead. I'll just keep going."

He trembled more and his whole body was shaking terribly. "Stop! Stop looking at me like that!" Blue eyes were dilating and his breathing grew faster.

"Stop. Stop-!" He pulled the trigger again, but it clicked depressingly. The teen seemed to realize he had nothing left as he grew paler by the second. The boy's knees buckled and he crumbled to the wet ground. The rain seemed to be calming, but Butch's rage wasn't. He stopped right in front of their opponent.

"Tell me who you are."

The other had shaking shoulder as the other refused to look at him. "I-I told you-"

"How can I believe you? You've attacked us."

"I… I…."

He slowly, slowly looked up, eyes wide and full of tears. "After all this time… I can't."

He grit his teeth and forced a small smile to his face. He turned and looked back at Brick which made the redhead stiffen.

"I really am him. But do know- I'll come back. For you." And then, Butch let out a pained-filled grunt as he was sucker punched in the jaw. His head was thrown back and his body landed on the muddy grass with a dull thump.

The boy was floating again, this time he refused to look at either of them. He flew upwards, but came unbalanced before he straightened himself again. And then, in a flash of blue light, had disappeared in the distance without another word.

Brick just stood there, mouth open and shoulders slumped in defeat.

Well.

That just happened.


	4. Rescue

He slowly dragged himself into his cell, er room, his breathing shallow. He groaned in pain as he limped to his bed and practically collapsed onto it. He wasn't very comfortable, but how could he complain? The bed was a mattress that felt no better than the stone floor it sat on and he only had one sheet and pillow. No comforting items, no color.

The blonde sighed before he pulled himself up to sit up no matter how much pain was shot through his side and stomach. He grit his teeth and took a deep breath before he leaned over. He almost screamed but bit it down.

His hands wandered under his bed and felt around, sweat built up on his forehead as he tried to find it. Come on…

There! He felt himself smile, just slightly, as he pulled out a white case. He sat cross legged and opened the case, taking out some medical tape and alcohol. He lifted his dark blue shirt and tossed it in the corner of the room along with his jacket. Then he started to treat his wounds. Some were simple scratches, others were deep cuts and slashes, and they all were by other scars, new and old.

He winced a few times as he applied the alcohol with cotton balls and sighed heavily. Why did he have to fail that mission…?

Suddenly, a knock resounded on his windowless metal door. He grumbled out a "come in" and wasn't surprised by the person who marched in.

"Yes, Mojo?" He asked, eyes trained on cleaning a cut on his abdomen. Mojo walked over to the bed and the boy flinched away when he got too close. Mojo crossed his furred arms, booted foot tapping impatiently.

"Boomer," he spoke, "how could you have failed your mission? After all this time, you still continue to fail and fail-"

"Please, I tried my best. They- you don't understand how it was…"

"I don't understand?" Mojo's voice raised. "You talk back to me as if I weren't your superior- I could send you back to him-"

"N-no! Please n-no!" His voice was already strained as he stuttered out his plea. He sighed as he wrapped a final bandage around his side. He closed the box and slid it back under the bed. He wouldn't bother with any wounds anywhere else, they'll heal fine.

"Mojo, it's h-hard to f-fight them. They… they wouldn't believe me, they wouldn't l-leave."

A moment of silence passed before he heard his mentor sigh. He slowly walked over and took a seat on the bed.

"Now, listen to me. I am the great and infamous Mojo Jojo, your original father. You know that what I tell you is for our benefit; nothing I tell you to do will go wrong."

This had Boomer's attention as he looked at his father in curiosity. The ape seemed tense as he practically burned holes into the boy's own eyes. It made him highly uncomfortable, making eye contact.

"Now, listen. You, Boomer Jojo, are given the directive, by me, Mojo Jojo, to leave." Boomer's eyes were wider than ever as he choked back a gasp. What? Leave?

"S-sir, I can't l-leave! What would H-HIM do?" The overwhelming fear of his master's reaction made his heart constrict in pain. He absently clutched his chest.

"HIM has no reason for anger with you leaving- if it's for a proper reason."

Huh?

"If I, Mojo Jojo, have you leave to go back after the Powerpuff Girls, completely ready, then you can escape."

"W-why? Why h-help me escape?" Boomer couldn't believe this conversation was even happening. HIM would find out for sure! Mojo chuckled lowly before he started laughing all too loudly, eyes closed and hands holding his stomach.

"Ha! This isn't for just you Boomer. I have an assignment for you!" He grinned, fangs glinting from the moonlight flowing through the barred window of the cell. "I, Mojo Jojo, need you to escape, but. You need to find those stupid girls and your brothers and, ugh, befriend them. Bring them here, convince them, drag them, I don't care. Once they know that HIM is here they will come and defeat that pathetic excuse for a villain."

What.

"Y-you want to r-rebel?!" Boomer screeched and Mojo had to cover his mouth and shush him loudly.

"Be quiet! This needs to be between us. You think that the amazing Mojo Jojo actually wants to follow under someone else? Someone who is not as able as I, Mojo Jojo?! He's gotten too prideful to be a proper leader. That is why I, Mojo Jojo, will take over his plan and rule where he could not!"

Boomer nodded in understanding.

"S-so if i bring everyone h-here, they'll beat H-HIM?"

"Precisely!" Mojo affirmed. "And it works for you as well. Never again will you have to be dealt with by his claw!"

He straightened at that, trying to process the notion. Him, not getting punished as much? But it wouldn't make sense. Doesn't everyone act that way? He sighed, deciding not to question his mentor.

"...A-alright. I'll d-do it." He said under his breath.

Mojo smirked. "Good. Now, leave at once- I don't care how!" He quickly got up and marched back out of the small room, leaving Boomer to slowly analyze what just happened. He was somehow expected to run away from the facility he was in, find his brothers and the girls before HIM got impatient, and be able to convince not only his brothers but the Powerpuff Girls to follow him and believe that he is who he says he is.

He sighed, already exhausted- physically and mentally. He stood up, albeit slowly and unsteadily, before he walked over to the small nightstand beside his bed- this was the only other object in the room, not even a lamp.

He opened the top drawer and picked out a small black case. He opened it and let his hand graze the small object that was inside. A real, authentic pistol. Ace had given it to him when he was about twelve after he failed his armed weaponry exercise- that was a bad day.

He picked it out, made sure it was loaded, and turned to his small window. The stars were out, as well as the full moon, and it was cool. Still warmer than the icebox he called his 'home' though. He pushed away the urge to just watch the stars and forget about his mission. This was his chance.

He aimed carefully. He would just go through the front, but the fear of running into one of the villains (who he assumed didn't know about the plan) or even worse HIM himself. Just the thought of the devil made him go slightly lightheaded.

He focused his eyes, took a breath, and pulled the trigger. The bullets he had were remarkably powerful and knocked out the first stone bar without much resistance. Now for the next two. He aimed, and fired again. Second bar out. He lined the gun up to the third and final obstacle from his freedom and pulled the trigger. Gone.

He slowly let his arms down and just stared numbly.

They were really gone. All he ever had to do to escape was shoot his own window. But then again, why would he ever have the idea to actually _run?_ Just the idea would make him chuckle. But he wasn't laughing now. Now he felt more nervous than ever and started to shake. He tried to clear his mind, but couldn't from the fact that _he just broke a rule._ No tampering with anything unless given full instructions to.

His body moved on its own. He practically chucked the pistol back into the case, grabbed his t-shirt and pulled it over his head as well as his jacket and threw it on in haste, not even bothering to button it up. He debated taking a weapon, or his first aid kit, but decided against it. Too much to carry. He would just have to hope they wouldn't kill him.

The blonde jumped up and flew to the window and looked outside. He gripped the cool stone tightly as he bit his lip. Here goes nothing…

He slid his body through the small space, and thankfully, didn't get stuck. He was lucky for being so unnaturally thin. Though it could just have been from his completely empty stomach. Not that he was complaining.

The boy then flew a few feet from the cold facility he spent his whole childhood in and took a look back. For as long as it took to complete his mission, he would not return. No more long, winding hallways. No more constant stretches of desert he could only look at from the inside. No more mocking and fighting. No more punishments. (The last two were more so hopes than anything, though.)

Boomer looked ahead of him, winced from his aching side, and finally started his trip to the city.

…

Too cold. Too, too cold. How could she want to go out when it's this cold?

Brick struggled to wrap his mind around the fact that the skipping blonde next to him couldn't process the fact that they were walking through a foot of snow, after it just rained, and still wanted to go ice skating.

He sighed, resigning to the cold truth that he would never, in his whole life, understand girls. Bubbles hummed happily next to him as she merrily went along, Blossom was nose deep in her new book, literally, and Buttercup and Butch were arguing like usual. Something about which video game character was more of a boss. Whatever.

He still couldn't believe that he was actually doing this. Just ten years ago, they were trying to kill each other. Now he competes with his counterpart to be better at chemistry, and his brother was overly protective of the girl who quite literally cries over spilled milk. And puppies.

How did life come to be like this?

He stuffed his hands further in his red jacket pockets as they continued their trek to the park, where there was bound the be the same frozen lake that greeted them every year.

Maybe if he's lucky he can dump his skates there and sneak off to the pizza place around the corner…

While he was daydreaming about a heaven full of melted cheese and steaming cooked meat, a loud scream broke out. His concentration was then focused on where it came from- Bubbles.

She was frozen in her tracks as she stared wide eyed at the ground. He followed her gaze and felt his heart sink. Blood blotches and spots scattered the snow, leading a trail up ahead of them. He looked to where the trail led and he felt even more sick.

By then the whole group had stopped, but not for long before Blossom and Buttercup instantly ran over to the figure lying still in the snow.

He felt odd. He recognized that jacket from somewhere. Black training jacket, blue shirt, black pants… wait. As he got closer, he noticed it. Blonde hair.

"Is that… that boy?" He muttered under his breath before he dragged Bubbles with him to the injured person, Butch right next to him.

Blossom was checking his pulse and Buttercup was surveilling the area for the one who could have been behind this. Brick observed the boy. He had numerous scratches and cuts all over his pale skin, he had a split lip, blood was staining through his shirt (probably where the blood spots came from) and he noticed he wasn't moving. At all.

"Is he…?"

It took a moment, but Blossom eventually shook her head. "He's alive, but he has so many injuries he can't be out here for much longer."

Butch gasped, "eh?! No way! There is no way we're helping that psycho! He paralyzed you and tried to kidnap us and then kill us!"

Brick had to side with Butch this time. "He's right, what if this is some trap?"

Bubbles sniffled as she bent to her knees and felt his near frozen cheek.

"I don't think so. He's really hurt, he wouldn't risk it. Please let us help him!" Tears gathered in her eyes and the redhead and raven couldn't help but give in.

Buttercup then appeared out of nowhere before she made to grab the supposed 'Boomer'. Blossom stopped her, glaring.

"What are you doing?!"

Buttercup snorted. "What? We've gotta get this kid somewhere warm and you guys are taking forever. I don't want to end up an ice sickle like him!"

Brick sighed and walked over. He reached under the other, one hand under his neck and the other his knees, and picked him up carefully.

"We have to hurry. Sorry Bubbles, no ice skating today." The redhead tried to keep the slight amount of glee out of his voice.

They all understood and immediately took off towards the house and the ex-ruff followed closely behind. He looked back down and was surprised by how incredibly light the smaller was. What did he eat?

He noticed the blonde's bleeding lip becoming slightly blue and felt an odd course of fear go through him.

Brick was worried.

…

He couldn't quite tell why in the world he was as nervous as he was. Brick was slumped against the couch, watching the news, when Blossom came back down to the living room. Her pink eyes were hazy and just the way she shuffled her feet to the group summed up how exhausted she was. The professor followed behind her with the same expression.

"How is he?" Brick asked as they both plopped onto the couch as well. Buttercup was in the armchair by the couch, Butch was sprawled on the floor playing video games and Bubbles was playing with his hair, wondering how it could get so spiky.

The older man sighed as he ran a hand through his graying fine hair. "He's alive. His injuries were manageable but him being in the snow as he was could have really hurt him. Though I still have no idea who or what gave so hard a time."

Butch scoffed. "He had it coming after what he pulled. I still can't believe the kid tried to convince us he was Boomer!"

Bubbles stopped messing with his hair and instead opted to smack him in the back of the head. "What if he was telling the truth?"

The raven laughed. "The truth? If he was Boomer he wouldn't attack us, and he would have found us a lot sooner. Why now all of a sudden?" Bubbles pouted. Blossom patted her shoulder and glared at Butch.

"Butch, don't be so pessimistic. What if… what if there really was a chance?"

Brick thought about that. There must be some way to tell if it was really him… Then it hit him.

"Guys… just ask him something that only he would know."

They looked at him and Bubbles grinned. "You're right! Surely there is something that only you guys know about each other!"

Buttercup slouched in her chair. "And what exactly would be a good question?"

The redhead thought about when they were growing up. They would destroy buildings, complain about the girls, beat each other up… he realized with dread that he really didn't know anything about his brother.

"I… can't think of anything."

Butch burst out laughing and Brick glared. "What? Do you know something only we would know?"

Butch chuckled and smirked. He paused before his expression became thoughtful. Then defeated. "... I don't know either."

Brick scoffed. "Thought so."

Blossom put a hand to her chin in thought. "What if we asked him something that we would know about him?"

Brick gave her a look. "And what the heck would you know?"

"Hey, don't get sassy with her, you know what happened last time," Buttercup pitched in.

"Yeah, I had that black eye for a month!" Butch grumbled and his brother only rolled his eyes. Before he could say anything, the professor spoke up.

"I do know one thing…" He trailed off and everyone looked at him in expectation.

…

"Everyone, come up here, he's awake!"

Instantly everyone stopped what they were doing when Bubbles' call echoed through the house. The teens all flew back upstairs and the professor skipped steps as he too ran to his blonde daughter's room.

"Bubbles, are you sure?" Blossom asked, but stopped dead in her tracks the moment they all poured in.

Butch shoved past her, teeth barred. " _You._ "

Brick noticed the boy as well. The moment he had run in, the boy had almost jumped in surprise. Of course this caused him to flinch heavily and hiss in pain as he fell back on the bed. Bubbles started fretting over him but he continued to stare in shock at the arriving group.

He stared at Brick with something close to fear, and it only skyrocketed the moment everyone else came in.

The blonde boy was shirtless and had bandages wrapped all around his torso, a few more on his cheeks, and some more wrapped around his arms. He was already shaking and was gripping the baby blue blanket over him tightly.

He was speechless.

Brick sighed as he eased closer, hand out in a calming gesture. The other only shook more like a frightened animal.

"Hey," he spoke softly, "don't freak out. We aren't here to hurt you."

Blossom noticed his rapid breathing increase the closer Brick got, so she held up her own hand and stopped him. She smiled at Boomer. "Don't be afraid. We found you injured in the snow and decided to bring you here and patch you up. Please stay still alright? We don't want you to hurt yourself. We just want some answers, alright?"

The boy slowly stilled when the taller boy backed away but still avoided eye contact with the girl speaking with him. He licked his lips slowly and stared at his white knuckles.

"O… Ok…" he spoke so quietly, but their super hearing allowed them to pick up the small word.

Blossom nodded as she took a small step forward, slowly as to not frighten the boy.

"First… who are you?"

He looked up, just slightly, in confusion. "My n-name… it's B-Boomer, m-miss…"

The puff nodded, a frown on her face. Still the same story.

She looked back at the professor and gestured him to come over. He walked over slowly and tried to smile at the nervous blonde.

"I know you want us to believe you-" Boomer's head whipped up at the different, deeper voice, "-but we need to know for sure. It's been so long. We need evidence of some sort."

The other looked back down and nodded quietly. Still he never changed his mind.

"That's why we have a question for you." The man waited a moment, and at seeing no reaction, continued. "So tell us. Do you remember the day the girls captured you and had Bubbles take your place?"

The question made the boy stiffen. His eyed widened and he for once made eye contact with the professor. Slowly, after a moment of processing, he nodded.

The professor's smile started to fade as he thought of his next question. "Do you remember what you told me? When I asked you why you were scared more of your brothers rescuing you rather than the girls keeping you here?"

Brick perked up at this and looked right at his father. Boomer had said that…? He looked back at Butch and saw his straighten up as well, despite looking 'bored'.

Again, he nodded.

"And what did you say?" The scientist pressed on.

It took a moment, and they all became weary of his response, but then he finally opened his mouth to speak. No sound came out at first but he continued anyways.

"I… I said it would h-hurt more…. Th-that they w-woud n-never let me l-live it down… I was w-weak… if the girls k-kept me away my brothers w-would have no trouble. Th-they were so strong and c-cool after all…" His voice was rougher than ever as he struggled to force the words out.

Brick stared at him in surprise. Would Boomer have actually have said that? He was weak, and stupid, but still…

The professor straightened up before he turned back to the group. The girls seemed surprised as well.

"Professor, did he actually say that?"

The man nodded. "He did. When you girls were busy with Bubbles I noticed Boomer, after his first initial tantrum, had given up fairly quickly. I asked him and that's what he said. He was afraid of what his brothers would think of him and opted to stay trapped than rescued."

Butch opened his mouth to speak as he eyed the cowering blonde, but then closed it. He quickly flashed out of the room, green streak behind him, then came back. Brick looked at what he was holding and looked confused. The noirette was holding the old picture that Blossom had given them all those years ago.

He pushed through the group and over to 'Boomer' who freaked out even more at the approaching teen. His face was in a scowl as he stomped over before he kneeled down.

He grabbed the boy's arm, ignoring his squeak of protest, before he shoved the picture into his face. His blue eyes narrowed before they focused on what was in front of him.

He said nothing as he waited for the green-clad boy to speak.

"What. Happened."

He looked up at him in clear confusion. "W-what?"

He growled. "Why were you so… damn happy? Why the heck did we even take that picture?"

Brick found himself also curious about the origins of the picture. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out why they took the picture of how they looked so happy. Usually they were bickering or bullying the blonde.

The injured teen only coughed slightly before he spared a glance back at the photo. "I… That was when they k-kidnapped me. The g-girls I mean…"

Butch stood back up with the picture and his brow was raised. "What? No way, we never did any of that…"

Brick had to agree, "he's right. We just went straight home."

"Y-yes, but it was after that. We went to the park to b-bully some kids but A-Ace stopped us. He tried to beat me up again, b-but-" he took a breath and coughed. "-then Mojo f-found us. He scared Ace off a-and you guys thought he was c-cool."

Butch snickered. "Yeah right! That ape was nothing to us. Still is nothing." Brick nodded.

The blonde shook his head. "Th-that's why we m-moved back in with him. He promised… he promised to make u-us h-happy… he took the p-picture and g-got us food…"

Bubbles sniffled at the explanation. "R-Really? Oh Boomie!" She wailed out and moved forward to hug him, but he only held his arms up in defense.

"N-No!"

She stopped and he lip quivered more. She ran over and hugged Blossom who patted her head in comfort.

The blonde sighed and looked away His eyes were drifting closed already and they all took that as a sign to leave.

The professor started waving them out (and ruffled a grumbling Buttercup's hair) and stopped when he saw Brick and Butch standing by him. The blonde was slowly falling asleep. His eyes lidded more and more before they slowly finally closed, his breath evening.

The two stood for a moment more in silence before the professor spoke. "Come on. We'll figure things out downstairs."

They spared the sleeping teen a glance once more before they nodded and left the room. The professor smiled at them before he clicked off the light and closed the door softly with a small _click._


	5. Getting Comfortable

They all were sitting in the living room again, not a single sound being made. Bubbles was curled in Blossom's arms, wiping her wet eyes, Buttercup idly picking at a loose thread on her jeans, Butch was sitting in his usual spot on the floor staring blankly at the 'Game Over' screen on the TV, and the professor was sitting on the couch trying to comfort his emotional daughter. Brick watched them, half contemplative and worried, half disgusted.

The mood? _Intense._

Brick sank further into the couch as his mind scrambled for where to start. He was about to give up and just listen to the silence when someone coughed. That someone being the professor.

"Do you… believe him?" His voice was distant as he just stared at the wall, hands in his lap.

Butch shrugged. "I don't know. Brick?"

The redhead was surprised, usually Butch would never ask for his opinion. He shook his head and sighed as he ran his hands over his face.

"It- It has to be. I mean, who else would know these things? And who the hell would even go through all this trouble in the first place if it weren't true?" Buttercup nodded.

"True. But what do we do then? Don't we tell someone, or…?"

"No. Not yet," Blossom stated firmly. "We don't know what his motives are. He tried to get you guys to go with him somewhere. He tried to hurt us. We need more information."

Their father nodded and hummed. "We'll have to wait until he's healed. And comfortable. From the way he was acting, I doubt we'll find out much about what's happened until he trusts us."

"Someone did our job," Butch growled as he clutched his knees. Brick looked at him. "What?"

Butch turned to them, green eyes narrowed considerably. "Someone beat the shit out of our brother."

Bubbles smiled slightly at him and giggled. "You sound like you care about him, Butch."

The boy huffed, "yeah right! It's just that no one can do what was our job. We were supposed to bully him and tease him. But this is just fu-"

"Language," The professor cut him on. Butch scowled.

"This is just messed up. Who does this anyways?"

"Mojo?" Buttercup guessed. Blossom shook her head.

"No, I doubt Mojo had the courage to beat up his own son. He's crazy, but not that heartless."

"Yeah, Mojo always did have a soft spot for us," Brick agreed.

Butch groaned, "then who else?"

"Ace?" Bubbles wondered. Buttercup grimaced. "Nope. Not him."

"Why? Trying to protect your boyfriend?" Blossom teased and she glared.

"Shut up. Right now."

Butch raised a brow. "Uh, what? BC got a boyfriend? You really like green, don't you?" The girl blushed madly and chucked a nearby pen at him, making him snicker.

"Someone's getting defensive~"

"Shut up!" She yelled.

"Let's get back on track," the professor sighed. The teens all sat in silence. Then Brick's eyes widened.

"HIM."

"What?" They all asked.

Brick straightened up as his mind raced too fast for him to process. "It was HIM."

"What? Do you think so?" Blossom asked. He nodded. "It has to be."

"What makes you so sure?" Buttercup questioned.

"Yeah, I know he was a meanie, but to do this?" Bubbles looked at him with worry.

Brick nodded his head again. "You don't know him like we do. HIM was sadistic, he'd do whatever it takes to get his way. He never cared about being out 'father'. He just wanted pawns." He explained. "Sick bastard…" The last part was mumbled under his breath.

"What would HIM want with Boomer though? And if the villains are together, why would they have left in the first place?" Blossom wondered aloud.

Her counterpart only shrugged. "I have no idea."

This was going to be hard.

…

He poured a glass of water tiredly from the purifier and yawned. He rubbed his red eyes and sighed when he noticed what time it was from the clock in the kitchen. 2:43 AM.

He groaned and quickly drank his water and then set it back in the sink before he shuffled slowly back to the stairs, that would, eventually, lead to the warm comforts of his bedroom. And Butch's snoring.

He walked up the stairs as quietly as he could and went to move to the end of the hallway where his shared room was. Then something caught his eye. He noticed that Bubbles' door was slightly ajar. It was odd since Bubbles was with Blossom for the time being (since they all got new rooms when they hit their teen years) while their guest recuperated. He should be sleeping.

He silently peeked into the room, careful of the creaking door, but froze as soon as he could look at the bed. The blonde was gone. He inhaled sharply before he looked towards the bathroom, and, of course, no one was there. He looked in their room and again, no one but a Butch who had fallen to the floor, butt in the air. He snorted.

Brick went to look in the girl's room, but there was no way he would go near them, right? So only one option then.

He bolted back downstairs and to the front door, through some shoes on, and threw open the door. He narrowed his eyes and tried to look for any sign of life in the early snow-filled morning, and grit his teeth when he saw him.

There the other boy was, limping through the snow, left arm holding his right elbow and shoulders hunched. Brick immediately ran outside, despite his lack of a shirt.

"Hey!" He called out, and the blonde froze. Brick caught up to him, since he was only walking out into the sidewalk, and grabbed his shoulder. He spun the other around and gripped him tightly on each arm.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He spat out. The other barely looked at him, his blue eyes were dull and blank as he stared at his snow covered feet. At least he was wearing his boots, but the loose bandages and pair of pants did little else to help.

"Answer me! There is no way you're that stupid!" He ground his teeth as he glared heavily at the still teen.

It was then that the smaller blonde whispered something, but Brick couldn't hear it. "What?" He asked.

"How… w-why haven't you a-attacked me?" He mumbled. The redhead tilted his head in confusion.

"What do you mean why? You were already injured. I mean sure, we can be sadistic in battle, but not when you're already dying." He frowned and his grip loosened slightly.

"I-I made a m-mistake… I should b-be here…" He choked out and bit his lip.

"You can leave whenever you want, but not when you're like this. But," he sighed, "if you really are Boomer… I wouldn't really want you to leave." He already felt the small blush crawl onto his cheeks and looked away. Stupid Boomer.

The blonde seemed to perk up at that as he looked at him. "Y-you mean that? Do you b-believe m-me?"

Brick let go of one of his arms and scratched the back of his neck. "I-I mean sure… You seem to know things that only he would know. I just… I don't know why you would leave for so long."

"I h-had no choice… I w-was t-training the whole time. To find you." His voice was dropping out again and the other sighed.

"Listen, you can tell us later. We need to get back inside." With that, he gently pulled the blonde back to the house, where everyone seemed to be wide awake and waiting.

"Brick! Boomer! What happened? Why are you two out in the snow?" The professor asked worriedly when they walked up. Bubbles motioned for everyone to come inside and instantly ran to Boomer's side the moment the front door closed.

"Boomie, are you ok? Why were you out there?" She fretted over him as she checked his bandages, which, thankfully, didn't bleed through.

Brick turned to Blossom, "how did you know we were out here? It's way too early to be up." Blossom shook her head at him. "It was Butch. He must have noticed and got us all up when he saw neither of you were here."

Brick looked at his brother and smirked, "what you were worried?"

Butch growled and punched him in the arm. "Was not. More so angry at you for going on early adventures. I'm supposed to be the popular one!"

"Yeah, of course, that was it." Brick snickered and then turned his attention back to their guest, who was being escorted back to his 'room'. He was tiredly rubbing his eyes and apologizing profusely to the professor who only smiled at told him not to worry.

Brick jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back and saw Buttercup. "Dude, what happened?" She asked.

He frowned. "He… tried to run away. He said he shouldn't have come here." The group all frowned in worry.

"Is he all right now?" Bubbles piped up. Brick nodded to her and Blossom smiled. "Good," she said.

"Now, let's all get back to bed. It's almost three o'clock!" She exclaimed while stretching. They all agreed and went back to their separate rooms.

The next couple of days passed without incident. Their new guest spent most of his time resting and no one bothered him. The boy still seemed skittish around them and only seemed fairly comfortable around Bubbles and the professor, oddly enough.

Brick had asked when they could get more information out of him, but Blossom told him to be patient. The boy fell asleep very often and slept for most of the day. They all noticed at some point odd little quirks about him. He refused to eat very much, just a few bites of any meal, he hated any kind of contact, and he never talked back or argued, even though he made it obvious some times he wanted to.

"What do you think happened?" Blossom asked during dinner on the third night as she idly picked at her broccoli. The professor shrugged and took a bite of steak.

"I'm not sure," he mumbled out and swallowed. "Based on his behavior so far, he's exhibited traits of someone who's been abused. I'm not sure yet, but if anything, I just hope he doesn't develop or has developed a case of stockholm syndrome."

Bubbles tilted her head, "what's that?"

"It's when a victim become comfortable and trusts or displays even affection for their abuser, often in cases of kidnapping or hostage situations. That's what I read at least."

Bubbles shifted in her seat in obvious discomfort.

Butch groaned, "why the heck did this have to happen to us?"

Blossom smiled at the two brothers. "We'll help him however we can, like we did with you. You two have certainly matured since the first day you stayed with us."

"Sure Blossy. It wasn't all you though. We would have gotten bored with crime eventually anyways. I mean come on, there were still days where beating people up wasn't as entertaining." Brick huffed and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Either way. I'm just glad we could bring you guys to sanity as fast as we did. Just hopefully Boomer won't have such a hard time to have a regular life again."

Buttercup slammed her fork down. "We don't even know why the heck he ended up here! I want to know what the hell happened and then go after whoever did it! Agh, I don't even feel like a hero anymore!" She snapped.

"We really aren't anymore," Blossom looked down.

"It doesn't matter!" Bubbles snapped and everyone looked at her. "Whether or not we fight crime anymore doesn't matter. Our goal now is to help Boomer and find the rest of the villains. We need to be strong!" Her eyes blazed with determination and Brick found himself chuckling.

"Heh. You get pretty fired up about this, huh?" She nodded as he held her clenched fists up.

"Of course! It's our job to protect the people!" She exclaimed. Butch snickered.

"Not ours," he said. Buttercup rolled her eyes. "Whether you want to admit it or not, you're the good guys. You have been for years."

Brick paused and thought about it. He couldn't clearly remember his childhood, but it seemed that everything just… changed, one day. Like he suddenly felt all his aggression disappear and evaporate.

"You know…" he trailed off. "It is kind of odd how we joined you girls. We weren't supposed to, yet… something calmed us down. What happened?" He didn't mean for it to be an actual question, but felt his suspicions rise when he saw the rest of the group squirm. Butch just looked confused as his eyes darted between the girls.

Odd.

He woke up.

Just not in the way they were expecting.

When Brick ran down the stairs after hearing glass breaking, the last thing he expected was the professor and his little partner in crime covered in large, soapy bubbles. The blonde was there furiously cleaning up the broken glass and squeaked in surprise at seeing the redhead in the doorway of the kitchen. He quickly threw the glass into the trash and ran to Brick apologizing like no tomorrow.

The rest of the superpowered teens appeared then as well, all looking disgruntled and panicked.

"Boomer!" Blossom called and ran over to him. The boy was still covered in soap, but under was a light blue t-shirt and black sweatpants that clung loosely to his hips. He also wore a blue bandana over his wet hair.

His eyes widened and he waved his hands frantically as he tried to explain the situation, all while the professor stood in the corner laughing to himself.

"I-I'm so s-sorry! I didn't mean t-to, h-honest! I'll do my b-best, I promise!" His breathing quickened and he seemed to pale considerably at Blossoms stern stance with her hands on her hips and narrowed eyes.

At seeing the reaction, the pinkette immediately slackened her posture and smiled softly. "Hey, Boomer, it's alright. I'm not angry, it's just I was worried about you opening your wounds again."

The boy shook slightly but nodded nonetheless as he stared at his black boots.

Blossom whipped her head to the professor, eyes deadly. "And you! You should know he shouldn't be moving around like this! He should be resting!"

Bubbles skipped in and latched onto her arm, "don't worry! I'm sure he didn't know! And he looked like he was having fun!" She sounded as positive as possible despite her also-worried glances towards her counterpart.

The professor chuckled and ruffled Blossom's hair. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just that he seemed really interested in helping me cook. He's very thoughtful! I figured this would be a good chance to do something not too strenuous."

The blonde nodded as he fidgeted with his wet hands. Then, before he could speak, he sneezed up a bubble. Butch cracked up and Buttercup snickered while Bubbles was bouncing up as she blushed. "That was so cute!" She squealed.

The boy just blushed as well and rubbed the back of his neck. "C-cute?"

Brick chuckled. "I'm pretty sure that's just because you're her double."

She gasped, "what?! No! He's even cuter than me!" She beamed and Butch choked some more on his laughter.

"Ha! Look at that! The guy who tried to kidnap us is now cute! How did this happen again?" He accidentally punched Buttercup in the shoulder, to which she only scowled at him and punched him. Then the two began a mini-brawl as they stumbled back into the living room throwing punches and noogies.

Blossom sighed and quickly ran out of the room to stop the rambunctious teens. Bubbles only giggled at them before she turned to her father, who had turned back to making pancakes. "Do you need any help?" She inquired but he shook his head.

"No, no, you two just go and relax. Breakfast will be ready soon." With that, Brick and Bubbles left after a quick goodbye and smile to their helper.

However, Brick let his curiosity remain and stood by the kitchen, hidden but close enough to hear them talk. It took a few minutes, and he was about to leave to get dressed, but the smaller teen's voice piped up.

"S-sir, you can leave b-breakfast to me. I c-can cook, r-really." He mumbled as he washed the dishes. The man chuckled. "I know you can, but I want to cook. In all honesty, you should be getting some rest, not helping an old man like me."

"B-but I'm the g-guest. Aren't I s-supposed to d-do all of the w-work?" Brick cringed at the stuttering and briefly wondered why it was so prominent. He didn't stutter when they were children, right?

The man seemed to pause before he replied. "I'm the host. You're injured and staying with us. If I need your help I'll tell you, but I would never deliberately have you do all the chores around here."

The other stopped and stared at the older. "S-sir?"

"And don't talk to me so formally. I'm just the professor. I want you to feel comfortable here, not like you owe us any debt. We just want to help you regain your family."

"I-I hurt your daughters. We almost k-killed them…" Brick peeked into the kitchen and was surprised to see his shoulder's shaking, but not out of sadness. He could practically feel the fear rolling off him. Brick clutched his shirt where his heart was.

He was always afraid…

"That doesn't mean you can't change. Your brothers did, even though it took awhile. They've learned how to act in a normal society. They were able to let go of their aggressive natures. You can too."

Brick ducked back and decided to leave them alone. He already knew the story. He just hoped they all would able to go back to the way things were…

When breakfast was served everyone practically plowed each other over as they shoved their way to the kitchen table. Butch had fallen into his chair and immediately started cramming pancakes and pouring syrup into his mouth while Buttercup cringed and dove into the bacon.

Blossom and Bubbles looked at them in disgust before they prepared their plates, as well as the professor. Brick was about to as well before he noticed something was missing. Or someone.

He turned back and saw Boomer awkwardly shuffling, about to head up the stairs when he whistled to him. The boy straightened up and looked at him, eager to please. Brick felt his stomach jolt.

"Um, hey, you can eat over here you know. You should really get something in your system," he nonchalantly said before he stuck a piece of egg into his mouth.

"Yeah, come on!" Bubbles waved him over. The blonde seemed to hesitate before he slowly nodded and marched over to them. The professor passed him a plate from his seat already with food on it. The teen nodded to him before he… sat on the ground.

Brick's mouth fell wide open, as well as the other's, and Butch started choking on his food, tears of laughter already leaking down his face.

"Woah, what the heck?!"

Brick glared at him, a sudden sense of protectiveness inching it's way into him. He looked back at the blonde, but struggled to get the words out. Did he really think he had to…?

Blossom coughed into her elbow. "Erm, Boomer…" The blonde looked up, eyes wide in question. Then he seemed to stiffen as his eyes were filled with a different emotion.

"D-did I so s-something w-wrong?" He asked, voice weak.

She blushed, "n-no! Of course not! It's just, wouldn't you be more comfortable over here? At the table?" She gestured to the empty seat by Butch.

He looked rapidly between her and the seat and seemed at a crossroads at what to do.

"A-are you… sure?" Her, Bubbles, and Brick nodded vigorously.

He seemed to shake more as he slowly stood up on wobbly legs before he slumped into the chair, and promptly picked at his food.

Buttercup raised a brow at this as she swallowed down some egg.

"Hey, dude, it's not poisoned or anything."

He frowned at this as he picked up a piece of pancake and observed it. "This is… pancake?" He asked.

She nodded in clear confusion. "Yes…? Don't you know what a pancake is?"

He nodded. "I d-do, but… it's been a v-very long time. I usually eat just v-vegetables or g-grains…" Butch gagged.

"How did you survive?" He flushed and sunk lower in his seat before he stuck the piece into his mouth. He paused, and Brick found himself feeling worried again, but froze himself when the most pleased and excited smile bloomed itself on the boy's face. His face lit up and his cheeks had a hint of red staining them. And he smiled, teeth showing and all.

It was then that Brick felt panic swell in his chest. He expected to feel happy, or amused, but not this sinking feeling. His blood red eyes widened to an impossible degree before he dropped his fork to his plate.

They all looked at him and the boy's smile vanished, replaced with worry over the redheads sudden action.

"B-Brick?" He asked and bit his lip.

He didn't know how he hadn't noticed it before, but he did. The gap tooth. It must have never healed after that day…

He realized just who he was looking straight at.

"...Boomer…"

His brother.


	6. The First Nightmare

_He saw his brothers. Butch was on the floor lying on his stomach playing the newest wrestling game. He looked over and saw Boomer sitting on their shared bed cheering and rooting for his green-clad brother who was winning the fight. He smirked and ran over and tackled Butch so he lost sight of the game. He tried wrestling him and gave him a noogie but he only shoved the redhead off._

" _Dude, outta the way! Can't you see I'm winning this?!" He tried to regain his lost points in the game but he groaned in annoyance._

" _You've been playing that for three days straight! Why don't we actually fight instead of laying around getting fat?" The boy whined, purposefully eyeing the blonde with a melted pizza slice in his hand. He grinned sheepishly._

 _Butch rolled his eyes. "Whatever, you aren't the boss of me," he muttered. Brick whipped around to him._

" _Oh yeah? Who's the leader of the group? Boomer?" He laughed but the blonde only gasped in wonder. "That would be awesome!" He jumped up with a wide grin on his face, but was then slapped in the face by the 'leader'._

" _As if you'd be leader, moron." He huffed out and turned back to Butch. He wasn't even paying attention._

" _Hey! Get off that stupid game!" He barked but was ignored. Brick felt his blood boil and marched over to the noirette and yanked him up by the back of his shirt._

" _Dude, what the heck? Let me finish!" He yelled but found himself getting punched in the face by his brother. He stumbled back and dropped the controller, feet scuffling along the old chipped wood._

" _Oh, so what? You're gonna treat me like Boomer now?" Butch asked and Brick growled._

" _That's what happens when you're nothing but an idiot!" And then they clashed. The two merged into a ball of twisting flailing limbs as they tried to throw punches and kicks at each other. Brick had never fought with Butch before. They would tease, sure, but something about all of this made him angry beyond belief._

 _He didn't hear his own grunts of pain, or the small shack shaking against their blows. He didn't even hear Butch's insults thrown at him. He didn't hear Boomer yelling at them to stop._

 _That was why he was confused when Butch suddenly pushed him off, dodging a particularly harsh punch to the cheek in favor of yelling at their blonde brother._

" _Stay out of this!" Brick decided to separate themselves more as he straightened his body. He turned his head and felt an odd emotion run through his chest._

 _Boomer looked terrified._

 _His electric blue eyes were wide and his body was trembling. Brick then noticed that the house was destroyed, their rickety bed torn beyond repair, and part of the shack had even caught fire._

 _He should have comforted him. He should have ignored Butch's taunts. He should have gotten them out and told his brother that they wouldn't fight in front of him._

 _Instead, his body moved on it's own and before he could blink he had sucker punched Boomer in the face. The boy cried out and fell to the floor as he clutched his left eye._

" _That's what you get. Don't be such a wimp!" He spat out._

 _Butch growled and flew over to the blonde and kicked him in the side, earning another whimper. He shook more, and when he looked up at his brothers, Brick could swear he had no idea how to react to the tears gathering in his eyes._

 _Boomer never cried. Not even when they would beat him up. Not even when they would mock him and call him the worst words they knew. Not even when they threatened to ditch him and be 'real' villains because he was such a crybaby. But he never cried._

 _The boy shakily stood up as he furiously tried to wipe away the tears that were flowing down his chubby cheeks but winced when he touched his black eye._

 _Butch scowled at him and chose to direct his rage on their blonde companion instead of Brick._

" _Seriously? You're crying now? You might as well just go and live with those puffs, ya big baby! Why don't we throw you out right now?" He stomped over and Brick expected their poor bro to be even more scared._

 _What he didn't expect was the boy to suddenly tense up but then immediately have his body become loose. His arms lay limply at his sides, but the moment Butch reached out to him, he dove forward and drove his fist directly in the noirette's stomach._

 _Butch gasped in shock and was pushed backwards, towards the ever looming flames that were spreading to the rest of the house. He grabbed his gut and breathed deeply before his glowing green eyes were focused on their brother._

 _Brick couldn't help but shiver when he saw Boomer's gaze. He couldn't move his body, couldn't help Butch and couldn't even try to go near the blonde._

 _Boomer slowly turned to him, eyes dulled with a hopeless look that he had never seen. He raised his hand that was sparking with electricity._

 _Oh, so he was going to be scolded now. He always knew the other would finally rebel so he was more curious than afraid._

" _Brick…" He mumbled._

 _The cap-wearing boy turned back for a moment and saw Butch standing still and glaring daggers at the other. He turned back and was shocked to see Boomer right in front of his face._

" _How…" He uttered._

" _How what?" Brick asked, venom dripping in his voice._

" _How could you let this happen?"_

 _Huh? "What?" He asked, but gasped in pain when Boomers electric hand was pushed into his chest. He froze for a moment, feeling like the fire behind him was running through his veins. He wanted to scream but found his body still unable to move and his voice failed him so he only opened his mouth to a silent scream._

 _His body was pushed back in shockwave, blue sparks bursting everywhere. Brick felt himself scream this time when he felt his hand fall into the searing fire. He clutched the burnt appendage to his chest, trying to force the tears back._

 _Is this what fire felt like? Weren't they immune?_

" _Don't you remember?" He looked up and he was right there again, eyes dead._

" _Remember what? Why the heck are you doing this?!" He shouted._

" _You're powers are gone. You can't do anything." Suddenly Butch was next to Boomer and he too stared down at him with a smirk on his face._

" _You were never a leader. You were never a brother," Butch mocked. "You'll never be anything more than an arrogant prick."_

 _The words hurt. He knew it was true. Something about it all seemed so familiar._

" _Brick, you'll never same me," then his usual blue and black striped shirt was gone and was replaced with the blue t-shirt and black jacket._

 _Brick started to cough and retch, the smoke and heat starting to lick at his body made him want to feel anything other than the absolute pain._

" _B-Boomer-!" He called out and reached for his brother, who had grown older. He turned around and started to walk away. The shack had disappeared and was replaced by a stretch of empty darkness._

" _Boomer!" He screamed. "Butch!" He found trying to reach the blonde was impossible since his legs were searing in hot pain, and instead looked for his cocky brother. His hands scrambled around in the darkness as he tried to latch onto anything, and he grinned when he felt something._

 _He yanked his arms up and gripped the object tighter, but instantly felt sick and screamed in fear when he saw he was holding a skull. The skull had raven hair in the small upturned ponytail/cowlick._

 _Butch._

 _The skull rolled away from him, but when it stopped, the skull opened it's mouth and whispered, "burn in hell you traitor."_

 _He felt the tears running freely down his cheeks as he cried openly that time. He held his ears against the growing chorus of whispers._

" _You can't save him."_

" _You will never be good enough."_

" _You deserve to die alone."_

" _You're brothers hate you."_

 _They all banged against his head as he tried to block the voices out, but he couldn't._

 _Nothing in that moment compare to the pain clenching around his chest and he choked back a sob._

 _But then, it all stopped._

 _He waited, and waited, but nothing came. He took a moment to calm his frantic breathing and thundering heart before he opened his eyes._

 _They struggled to adjust to the darkness, but the lack of voice made him feel all the more better._

 _He tensed but nothing came. He finally let his shoulders relax as he let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding._

" _That was close-"_

 _They all came back full force. His eardrums ached and were being stabbed with pain when the whispers became shouts. He forced his eyes open when he saw the scenery around him change. He couldn't believe it._

 _During the drilling of insults and hopeless words, he saw images flashing through his mind. He saw darkness and drifting sets of colors he didn't even know were there, he saw winding hallways made of stone that never seemed to end. He saw the images of faces that were blank, but he heard certain insults increase with each blank face. He felt more tears cascade down his face as he saw a dungeon of sorts with a chains latched to the walls. He saw red, and blood, and a merciless grin and green-golden eyes._

 _He saw a ball that rolled into a corner as he heard screams and he felt pain ripping at his chest more and more. He couldn't take it as he tore at his shirt. He saw guns, and bodies. So many bodies, all around._

 _And he smelt blood._

 _And then he heard it._

" _No matter what you do, no matter how hard you work… nothing will change. You can't save anyone. You can't even save yourself."_

 _It… was his voice._

…

He felt arms shaking his body roughly and shouts in the distance, and he felt his heart sink even more.

He suddenly saw Butch with narrowed eyes and sweat dripping down his face. The pain started to ebb away. He saw the professor there too, and Bubbles. They all stared down at him with concerned looks.

Why were they worried?

He couldn't hear anything and his mind kept flashing to that dark place. The place with the voices and images.

He felt something warm on his face and he could feel his chest rising and falling rapidly.

He heard a loud ringing in his ears for a moment before that faded as well and he could hear their concerned shouts and questions.

"Brick, are you alright?!"

"Please, answer us!"

"Dude, stop scratching yourself!"

"Brick, please, calm down. Just breath, we're right here."

He heard them all and he took gulps of air as he struggled to get his breathing back to normal. He felt Butch grab his hands and he chanced a look back down at his topless chest. Oh. He really was clawing at himself.

He took another minute or two and barely registered Bubbles' crying as she held his hand. Butch just stared down at him while the professor started applying small bandages to his chest. Buttercup just stood by her sister and rubbed her back, green eyes darting to meet his red ones every once and awhile.

Eventually, he felt himself calm down enough to sit up and speak. The others helped him sit, up, which he noticed he was on the floor, and lay back against the wooden frame of one of the two beds in the room.

"What- what happened?" He asked and gratefully accepted the glass of water Bubbles handed to him from out of nowhere.

"You fell out of bed and started freaking out! You were yelling all this weird stuff and started clawing at your chest. What were you dreaming about dude?" Butch asked.

The redhead sighed and scratched his loose hair. He suddenly felt exposed without his cap that was on the nightstand, so he picked it back up and set it in it's usual backwards style. He felt a strange anxiety build up in his chest when he thought of the… nightmare? No, it was worse than that. A night terror?

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up at her. She seemed afraid.

"Please, tell us."

He couldn't.

"Where-where's Boomer?" It was the first time he said his name and felt so much dread coupled with it.

Bubbles looked at their father who sighed and looked at the open door. "He- he just woke up two. Both of you were screaming. I had Blossom and Buttercup go and comfort him. What in the world is going on…?" He ran his hand over his face and Brick looked at the door.

With trembling legs, he forced himself up, set the half empty glass of water onto the desk, and walked out, despite the other's protests.

He forced himself to move, despite his heart beating faster the close he got to the room. But he had to keep going.

He pushed the door open slowly and it creaked open. He could hear whispering. Like the dream- no. Not that.

He took a breath and walked in. He turned and saw Boomer shaking dramatically, wiping away countless tears as Blossom and Buttercup stood by him. Blossom had a hand raised to her cheek. When she pulled it away, blood was on her hand and Brick clenched his fists.

He- he hurt her. He suddenly remembered something. The sudden image of a hospital bed, white walls, sunlight and pain… and her. She was above him, calling his name.

That's what he remembered but couldn't piece together. What was the room? What happened?

He shook his head and stormed over to the shaking blonde and grabbed his shirt and pulled him up to eye level.

"You." He voice was low.

"What happened. You hurt her- and not just her. You… you hurt everyone. The screams, you-" he could barely get the words out as he tried to sew the dream back together. Boomer was looking at him with so much fear in his glistening eyes.

"I… I'm sorry. I'm so s-sorry…"

He barred his teeth as he felt the surge of anger and anguish coursing through his veins. He couldn't. He couldn't tell how he felt other than the burning he still felt and the empty gaze on him, but…

For a small moment, he felt different. He felt a moment of peace and… calm? It washed over him and he felt his grip loosen.

He couldn't hurt him.

He couldn't save him.

He couldn't…

"Brick." He slowly looked back up and saw Boomer looking at him with tears gathered in his eyes.

"I'm sorry."

He felt small arms wrap around him and he couldn't.

His chest constricted and loosened and instead felt warmth on his cheeks again. Now he was crying. He raised him numb arms and wrapped them around him too.

He kept thinking of the voices and the underlying urge to do something to… his brother? Right. His brother.

Brick felt Boomer shake even more before he was shoved back. The boy had tear stains on his face as he rubbed his nose.

"S-sorry. I just… I must have given you nightmares too…"

Brick frowned, exhaustion starting to set in again. He rubbed his eyes and ignored Buttercup's teasing grin and Blossom's worried gaze. But it was hard to ignore everyone else standing in the doorway watching them.

"What- whatever… We'll… deal with this in the morning…" He mumbled out.

He turned back to everyone and smiled slightly.

"It is… Christmas Eve afterall."

…

"So… what is C-Christmas Eve?" Boomer asked the bustling teens running back and forth in front of him.

Bubbles nearly dropped her plate of cookies and Blossom almost let the box of lights slip from her hands.

"Wait, what?" Butch stuttered before he snorted and then promptly burst out in laughter.

"Seriously?! Everyone knows what Christmas is!" He snickered and Buttercup slapped him in the back of the head before going to help Blossom.

"Quit being a jerk Butch, it's not his fault," she scolded and he groaned. The boy flipped back onto the couch.

"Jeez, I was just surprised. Who the heck did you stay with anyways?" He asked as he kept a close eye on the professor hanging the garland on the staircase.

Boomer blinked at him. "U-Um…" He seemed to think about something for a moment. "I, uh, I n-need to talk to y-you all after e-everything…" He trailed off and some of the teens watched with interest as he fidgeted on the spot.

Bubbles beamed, "ok! No problem! Just let us get everything ready. Actually, Blossom, can I show him what Christmas is?" She gave her sister her famous puppy eyes and Blossom sighed as she shifted the box into her arms while she simultaneously gave Buttercup a thankful look.

"Alright, just don't get too into detail," she warned and walked off. Bubbles gave a yip of joy before she set the cookies down in the kitchen and skipped to Boomer. She pulled him onto the couch as well (with a yelp of fear from Boomer), and made Butch panic and fall off. He rubbed his head and pouted. "You should work on your landing there, Bubbs."

She blushed and nodded, "alright, sorry! I'm just so excited! We can watch all the Christmas movies and have eggnog and sing carols-"

Butch was already stalking off.

She whined, "Butch, come on! Spend time with your brother!"

"Nope!" He called over his shoulder.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine, we'll just have fun on our own!" She turned to the anxious boy next to her. "Alright, Christmas is the super fun time of year where depending on if you're good or bad that year a big jolly man name Santa Claus comes to deliver presents! He rides with flying reindeer and he sees every child in the world all in one night!"

Boomer hummed in thought. "Wait… w-what do y-you get if you're b-bad?"

Brick walked up to them then with a few glasses of eggnog. "You get coal," he deadpanned before he sat down with them. They all took a glass and Boomer gulped.

"C-coal…" He thought, before his expression fell even more. "I r-remember this now. W-we would always g-get coal…" He muttered with a tinge of bitterness in his voice.

Brick frowned and look at the TV. "We kind of deserved it. We sucked as kids." He looked back at his brother. "That's why we're trying to make things up to the people. We're almost adults now, we need to figure things out."

Bubbles squealed. "Brick, you're being so mature!" He flushed. "Th-that's what happens when you spend your life with Pinky over there!" He pointed to Blossom who was examining (stealing) a cookie. From the look on Bubbles' face, she dropped the cookie with wide eyes and backed away slowly before she ran to help the professor.

"What about Buttercup then?" Bubbles asked dryly. They looked at Buttercup who was also with the plate of cookies and was promptly dumping them down her shirt.

"Buttercup!" Bubbles screeched and ran after her sister who yelped and flew away. The two began a chase with Bubbles crying that those were for Santa.

Brick chuckled at the sight before he looked at Boomer.

"You ok, Booms?" He asked. The other jolted and he focused back on the redhead.

"Y-yes! Sorry. It's just… It's h-hard thinking about wh-when we were kids…"

For a moment Brick thought back to his dream and fought down a shiver. He nodded.

"I know, it is hard, but… at least you're here," he said.

"Yeah, at least ya didn't die in a ditch or anything!" Butch grinned before he dodged en enraged Bubbles and laughing Buttercup.

"So, you guys gonna watch movies or what?" He asked and plopped down on Boomer's left.

The boy nodded and Brick grabbed the remote to find a movie.

And of course it was Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer.

…

"Merry Christmas!" Bubbles cheered as she flew all around the house. Her smile was too big for her petite face but it was contagious as all the other waking teens felt her joy as well.

"Alright! What do we do first?" Butch grinned as he slid down the stairs railings. "Presents?!"

Blossom sighed, "no Butch, you know how this goes. We have breakfast first." The boy pouted and crossed his arms and the professor chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'll make breakfast. You all get ready." He smiled calmly and the group nodded.

"I-I'll help you!" Boomer suggested but the man shook his head.

"You go and get dressed to. All of you just relax today."

The blonde opened his mouth in assumer protest but then shut it again and headed to his 'room'.

The others did as well and when they all came down they seemed even more excited. Bubbles twirled around in her baby blue sweater and black skirt and giggled. "I'm so excited! I've been extra good this year!"

Butch snickered, "yeah, sure you have. I saw that magazine stash under your bed." He wore a green tank top and black shorts.

"Wah?! Butch, I have no such thing!' Her blush was darker than ever and he laughed.

"Actually, Butch, I'm pretty sure that's your stash," Brick smirked and nudged him in the arm. He had a normal maroon t-shirt and jeans.

Butch scoffed. "Please, at least it's not as bad as yours Bricky-boy." He sputtered as well as his cheeks went to match his shirt.

Buttercup wailed. "Man, you guys are such perverts! Imagine if poor Bubbles found it! Or Blossy, she's have a panic attack!" She had a green and black hoodie with black sweatpants.

"I better not find that. I better not find that. I better not find that…." Blossom chanted under her breath and crossed her arms wearing a pink shoulderless long sleeve shirt and white pants.

They all began laughing and teasing and then Boomer spoke. "W-what magazines?" He asked timidly. He sunk further into his light blue turtleneck (that belonged to Bubbles) and his black jacket. His jeans fit snugly on his thin legs as his booted feet shuffled against each other.

They all stopped and looked at him and Brick's blush grew even deeper. He waved his arms in embarrassment as he tried to distract the boy. "N-Nothing! It's nothing! Don't look for weird magazines or anything, please!"

Something about the blonde's question made the redhead want to keep things that way.

Blossom coughed and got their attention. "Alright everyone, let's go and decorate the tree! Christmas morning tradition!"

Brick did a double take when he saw the tree suddenly in the corner of the living room by the TV. When did that get there…?

"Buttercup snuck it in last night, pretty neat, right?" Bubbles smiled and Buttercup rubbed her neck before laughing boisterously.

"Hah! Of course! I am the strongest here after all!" Her cheeks still held a small tinge of red.

Butch dragged out a box of lights and decorations from the closet and immediately set to work. "I have the coolest decorations!" He boasted and that set off the more competitive of the group. Mainly Buttercup.

"No way! I have the better ones!" And it became a contest of who could decorate the tree better.

Boomer passed when given a light or anything to set up and stood watching them. Brick grinned and laughed but still kept a wary eye on his brother. The other seemed nervous about something.

"Hey, you ok?" He asked Boomer and the other jumped.

"Oh, sorry! I, um, I want to a-ask you something a-after this 'p-present' giving." He made air quotes around the word present but Brick understood nonetheless. He nodded, "alright, sure. We'll remember to talk after."

The other smiled, just slightly.

"Alright, time for breakfast!" The professor called out from the kitchen the moment the tree was decorated. Everyone stepped back and admired their work. The tree was radiating a beautiful blue and red hue from the lights as smaller, white lights twinkled from inside the branches. A large star sat on top and several small characters, pictures, etc. hung on the tree.

"Good job this year, everyone." Blossom nodded and they all grinned.

The group of teens headed to the newly extended part of the kitchen where the dining table sat and they all sat down for the professor to place down omelets with a heated dish of cinnamon rolls.

"Thank you professor!" The girls spoke before eating.

Butch was already digging in before he coughed his words out in between bites, "yeah, thanks old man!"

Brick sighed before he nodded in thanks to the man who just sat down.

Boomer slowly nodded and mumbled out a "thank you" and started to pick at his food.

It was safe to say the the red-clad brother was glad everything seemed slightly more normal. But then he felt it again as they ate. He paused for a moment before he continued eating as a sinking feeling settled in his stomach once again.

Something wasn't right.

The feeling continued, even when they all sat down around the tree where the presents then laid. Even when everyone started to open their presents, one by one, he just wanted to be sick.

He looked at Boomer who seemed equally as uncomfortable. He thought of the dream again.

He shuddered.

Bubbles gasped as she reached to the back of the tree. "Look, another present!"

She pulled it towards her and looked for the name. "Boomer, it's for you!" She smiled joyously at him and he seemed surprised. He took the red and white striped box with trembling hands and examined it before slowly tearing away the paper.

Inside it was a small red box. Boomer looked at it curiously before he hesitatingly opened it and gasped at what was in it.

He held up a golden locket in the shape of a heart. They all gasped and Bubbles had hearts in her eyes. "It's beautiful!" She praised.

Blossom smiled widely, "that's amazing Boomer! You must have really done well this year!"

The boy seemed incredibly confused by that. "W-what? That's strange, I… I don't really d-deserve this…"

Buttercup snorted, "Deserve it or not, I'd take it. Good for you man!"

They all looked at the locket with glistening eyes. The professor asked to see it and the blonde gave it to him almost too quickly. The man examined it with wonder and gasped when he looked at the back.

"Look here! There's an inscription on the back!" They shuffled close to get a look.

"It says," Bubbles scrunched up her face as she read the words carefully. "Don't forget."

"Don't forget?" Butch asked incredulously. " What the heck does that mean?"

"... Don't forget to smack Butch when he says something stupid?" Brick teased and his brother lurched at him, throwing a noogie at him before Brick shoved him off.

The professor shrugged with a sigh before he opened the locket. His eyes widened and he handed it back to the owner. The teen looked inside and he gasped slightly.

"Wow!" Bubbles squeaked.

"Picures?" Buttercup wondered.

Indeed, when the heart was opened in the middle was a small picture of Boomer smiling with that same goofy grin. It was opened with a three-way, so on the right side was a picture of Brick smirking and the left an image of Butch grinning and rolling his eyes.

"But how? Did Santa really manage to get your pictures?" Blossom asked to herself as she put her hand to her chin.

"Do you want to put it on?" The professor asked and the boy nodded.

Brick gestured for him to turn around since he was already right next to the boy and asked for the necklace. He took it and gently opened it and lowered it in front of the blond's face and neck.

He put it around his throat and secured the golden clasp and adjusted it so it hung loosely but comfortably on his neck.

Boomer gasped quietly as he look at the now closed locket and held it. He observed it some more before his lips stretched into a small but noticeable smile, his eyes focusing for just a moment before dulling again.

 _I think he likes it~_

Brick stiffened immediately and his breath caught in his throat.

He heard a voice, but it was unrecognizable.

He looked towards the others just to see them smiling and chatting about their gifts. The professor laughed with them, no one seeming to have noticed the loud and unsettling voice.

 _I wonder what would happen…_

 _If I did this._

He looked at Boomer and instantly the horribly feeling came back ten-fold. He clutched the floor and scraped his nails against the wood as the locket seemed to have a very slight dull glow around it that no one noticed.

Boomer straightened up as though he heard something as well and the other quieted when they saw him. He slowly stood up, eyes wide and blank as his arms were limp at his sides.

Brick already felt himself standing up as well as the sinking feeling increased more and more and he felt a sudden headache come on.

His head pulsed as he felt his body sway slightly. He heard Blossom call out to him and he tried to steady himself after the wave of dizziness.

This wasn't right.

Nothing was right.

Everything was wrong. And it only got worse when Boomer turned around.

His eyes were dulled and lidded and Brick knew things would not go well for them.


	7. The Locket

He cared too much.

He knew he did the moment he didn't attack. Instead he wanted to help the other; bring him back and tell him it would be alright. He felt sick with himself the moment that thought crossed his mind.

But in the end, he thought it and he couldn't go back.

Things were hazy when it happened. Everything moved too quickly for him to keep his eyes on anyone. He saw Boomer move and throw a punch at Blossom and she was sent into the wall.

They all gasped in shock but Butch and Buttercup were too eager to commence the battle.

His vision blacked out for a moment as he stumbled backwards and onto his knees. He tried to move but his mind kept flashing in and out to the dream.

Boomer kicked Butch in the stomach and ducked under Buttercups fist before he sent an uppercut to her chin.

Bubbles was crying as she tried to get him to stop, but ended up just getting in the way as the three teens tried to fight Boomer. He skillfully avoided each and every blow and hit sent at him and deflected most of not all the punches.

The professor saw him and ran over. He tried to help the redhead up, but he wouldn't move.

Then he saw it again.

 _A cold and dark room that smelled of blood and chemicals. He knew this place, somehow. He felt his stomach lurch when he saw a medical bed in the middle of the near empty room. Just the 'bed' and a metal table next to it with weapons and needles of sorts. Then he saw the same chains on the walls._

 _He heard a door creak and he turned around-_

Boomer got sucker punched in the face by Buttercup and twisted his body around the fists being thrown by Blossom who was behind him.

The professor was shaking him and he blinked.

"W-what-"

"Brick, something is wrong, we have to get out of here!"

His head nodded but then stopped halfway the moment he heard it again.

 _Oh, well isn't this fun~?_

 _Do you like him?_

He clutched his head when the migraine burned itself into him and groaned. Who was that voice?

 _You don't need to know that now. However, I am interested in what would happen if I found you too. You'll just have to ask about me of course!_

He forced himself up and pushed past the professor in favor of going towards the fight.

Blossom saw the increasingly destroyed house and flew outside, Boomer and the others following.

Brick sighed in frustration and ignored Bubbles who was still in the room and went towards his fighting friends.

But then his mind flashed again and he stumbled.

 _He was in a dark, narrow hallway. It was all made of both stone and metal and his feet clanked loudly against the ground. He felt himself shiver, it was so cold…_

 _He heard laughing and looked next to him. A door was suddenly there, closed and sealed. He hesitated before he reached out to pull the handle._

 _He smelled smoke and booze and the room was dimly lit. There were several darkened silhouettes sitting at a table with cards. He wanted to go in and ask where he was, but something against his foot stopped him._

 _He looked down and saw a ball-_

He saw white. He looked up right as Buttercup was thrown back against the lawn and into the snow. He felt cold again but forced himself to try and float.

Whatever the visions suddenly were weren't going to stop him.

He saw as the necklace on Boomer's neck pulsed lightly and his gaze became more empty as he dodged a swing from Blossom and easily kicked her in the ribs, sending her back.

Butch scowled and threw punch after punch left and right, but the blonde dodged every single hit.

"What the hell Boomer?! Why are you attacking us?!" He shouted at his opponent but received no answer.

Butch screamed in anger as he charged up a green blast of energy and shot it directly at the blonde, but it barely fazed him as he held up his hands and created a quick protection field and deflected it.

Brick flew up at them and barred his teeth. "Boomer!" He shouted. "Stop! Just pay attention and quit all this!"

A bolt of lightning was sent to him and he barely dodged as it grazed his knees. He shouted in pain and gripped them, but refused to go down.

He saw the golden chain glint in the morning light and knew what to do. He glared at Butch, "Butch! Get the others out of the fight!" Just as he said that, Blossom and Buttercup were back and already charging Boomer.

Butch looked at him as if he were crazy but the stern look and "hurry!" made him move.

"Hey guys, Brick wants this fight, let him do it!" He shouted at the girls. They sent Butch the same expression as he waved them off. They twirled and avoided any attacks from Boomer and Butch nodded to Brick as they landed on the ground.

He was about to go after them, but Brick flashed in front of him, smirk on his face. He charged up his energy and hardened his muscles before he shot off at his rival, eyes dead on the locket.

Then his mind went blank again.

 _He was back in the cold room from before, with the chains. But this time he saw someone connected to the chains._

 _It was a small boy, about the age of twelve, with his wrists above his head and face down. He appeared to be unconscious. His breathing was shallow and his dirty golden hair fell into his face. Scratches and scars littered his body and fresh blood leaked from his head._

 _He walked over to the boy and called out to him, but got no response._

 _Then he heard it again._

 _What are you doing here? It was the voice this time, loud and clear. It was so familiar but so distant he couldn't place a face with it._

" _Who are you?" He asked._

 _That doesn't matter. The question is what are you doing in this world?_

 _No one but him can enter._

 _He suddenly felt searing pain in his cheek and then in his stomach but choked down his cry of pain as he looked around the room, searching for the strange voice._

 _No one but who?_

 _The one who lives here of course. Then again, you are the one this was meant for. Maybe it's possible you're connected…?_

 _Brick straightened up and felt a slice of discomfort in his shoulder._

" _Connected? Meant for? What the hell is this?" He growled lowly but the voice only chuckled._

 _Hm. Maybe you'll make things more fun. You're lucky this time, but I'll come back and bring this world back to you~_

He opened his eyes and saw the plain white ceiling of their house. He groaned in pain as his back felt ached more than ever, like something just spent their time stomping and jumping all over it for an hour.

His eyes burned at he still felt like he could smell the faint traces of the blood. What had happened…?

Then he saw Bubbles. And Blossom. Then Buttercup.

They all looked equally worried as they looked him over. He couldn't focus on what they were saying because all of it was just so _familiar._

 _The bed, the flower in the vase by the window, the sunlight streaming through as he could barely keep his eyes open…_

But then he remembered what he was doing. He… was trying to get the necklace. His eyes widened as it all came rushing back and sat up quickly.

He looked around the living room and laying against Butch with a blanket over his shoulders was Boomer.

He would have been angry. Should have been angry. But all he felt at that moment was overwhelming relief when he saw the locket in Blossom's hand.

He found his voice, "Boomer." He got up and walked to his brothers side before kneeling down. He looked up at Butch who nodded at him, a slight smile that wasn't a smirk for once on his face.

"You… you were right. Somehow, you knew." He said, voice cracking slightly.

Brick frowned at looked at the blonde who was unconscious. His expression was relaxed and he had dirt all over his face.

He thought of what he saw. The blonde boy he saw, chained…

Was it real?

The girls walked over and they decided to set Boomer on the couch. They hoisted the surprisingly light teen up and set him down carefully. He shifted and his expression tensed before his eyes slowly fluttered open.

Dark blue eyes focused on them as a look of confusion graced his dirty face.

"W-what… happened…?" He asked. He tried to sit up, but his trembling arms refused him. Blossom and Bubbles helped him and he held tightly onto the blanket. He saw the locket in Blossom's hand and the exhausted looks of the others. And the slightly marred and unorganized living room.

The professor suddenly appeared with water and he gasped and ran over to them. He gave Boomer the water and looked him in the eyes.

"Do you know at all of what happened?" He asked him seriously and the boy shook his head before drinking the water.

He sighed and scratched his head. "Boomer, something with the locket, it made you… attack everyone." The blonde choked on his water and coughed.

"What?!" His voice trembled with fear and the man nodded.

"Brick seemed to know what to do and got it away from you. We should be grateful. But both of you… you seemed to have a lack of control over your bodies."

Brick shuffled his feet as he stared at the ground the moment the professor turned to him. "Brick." His voice was firm and the redhead knew what he wanted.

Brick groaned slightly. "I, erm… I don't really know what happened. I just- I kept seeing things. And hearing a voice."

Bubbles tilted her head and Blossom asked, "a voice?"

"What did it say?" The professor asked and Brick wanted to just hide in his room

"It was saying all these weird things. Like if I liked how Boomer was acting." He muttered.

"What…" his father paused. "What did you see?"

"I saw all these different things. I saw a this dark room with a medical bed, then all these hallways and a room with these people laughing. And I saw a ball. Then I was back in that room again…" He trailed off, eyes looking at Boomer. His head was down but he could tell he was thinking.

"And…?" The man prompted.

"I saw a boy. He looked kind of like Boomer, but I don't know." He sighed and lifted his cap to run his hand through his hair and put it back on.

Butch looked at Boomer with an oddly calm expression. "Booms…? You know this place?" He asked.

It took a moment and Blossom looked ready to ask again, but then he slowly and barely nodded his head.

Brick's eyes widened. "How…?"

"It's… w-where I l-live…" Boomer mumbled.

"Were you there? In that room?" Brick pressed and the boy grimaced.

"Yes… but it was because I was in t-trouble-!" He quickly said but Brick was having none of it.

"Boomer where is that place?" He asked and stepped forward, which seemed to make the boy sink further into the couch.

Blossom raised her hand as a warning to her counterpart.

"Boomer, please. Where is it? Who did all this to you?" She asked with a relaxed tone.

The boy fidgeted with his jacket. "I, uhm… I n-needed to a-ask about it a-anyways…" He said under his breath.

"That's right!" Bubbles exclaimed. "You wanted to tell us something. What was it?"

"W-well… I'm n-not really here of m-my will…" He said and everyone was focused. "I was sent on a m-mission."

"A mission?" Butch wondered and he nodded.

"Yes. I… I need y-you all to c-come to that place. A r-r-rebellion," he choked on the word, "is about to b-break out. W-we need you h-help…" The conversation was taking an obvious toll on him.

"A rebellion?" Blossom asked.

"Yes. By M-Mojo…" He replied.

The girls gasped.

"Mojo?!" Bubbles gasped.

"Like Mojo Jojo?!" Buttercup asked in disbelief.

"No way! He's still with you?!" Blossom inquired and he nodded.

"He w-want to beat…" He couldn't finish the sentence so Blossom changed tactics. "Boomer, why would you trust Mojo?"

"He- He actually w-wants to help me… Mojo is the one who t-took care of me a-all those years. He taught me t-to bandage myself a-and certain t-tactics. He's the only one who ever p-paid at-t-tention to me." He explained and Brick felt his heart pang a little.

"Boomer, can we decide on something?" She knelt down to look at him better and he nodded.

"Can we just wait a while? We don't trust you to go to Mojo. We need to be patient with this. And our priority is getting you back on the right path, alright?"

He seemed surprised by this decision but still agreed, albeit hesitantly. "A-Alright… If you say so B-Blossom."

She smiled at him. "Good. We just need to stay vigilant for this 'voice' and whoever is doing this to Brick." She turned to look at him and he looked away.

"Now," she stood up. "Why don't we clean up this mess and watch some Christmas movies?" Everyone hastily agreed and got to cleaning, except Brick and Boomer, who were told to sit down and recuperate.

Brick sighed when he looked at Boomer who was staring at the balled up yellow blanket in his hands.

"Boomer, did you ever… hear a voice too?" He asked.

The teen looked at him. "... yes."

His eyes widened. "Really? Who was it?"

The boy paled considerably and trembled where he sat as if he was seeing something he wasn't. "It was- was-" he stuttered the whole word as he thought of the voice. "HIM."

Brick was confused for a moment and was about to ask for an explanation before it dawned on him.

"You mean… that guy who said he was out father because he brought us back to life?" He could barely believe it. Sure, he was strong, but he was creepy as hell. Never would he imagined that the wierdo would have been behind it.

"He i-is out f-father…" The blonde mumbled out.

"Listen," Brick sighed. "No matter what, ever since we stayed with the girls, we were always cared for. No matter what stupid shit we did, the professor never hurt us or tried to kick us out. He insisted on helping us, which was pretty stupid if you ask me." He paused and the other was still listening.

"Either way, the point is that a father isn't supposed to do screwed up stuff to you. He isn't supposed to chain you up, or beat you to a pulp. That was our job," he chuckled.

Boomer's face scrunched up. "So wait… you… w-weren't k-kidnapped?"

Brick raised a brow at the question. "What? Kidnapped? Nah, we decided to live here after you went missing." He twitched nervously. "B-Because we needed help finding you of course! Not because they offered us food or anything, haha…" He laughed awkwardly and the teen just looked confused.

"Erm...A-Alright. I t-trust you, Brick." He smiled innocently at him and Brick felt a stab of pain in his chest again.

At that moment he really thought he deserved to burn in hell.

But, before he could do that, he needed to tell everyone who they had to deal with now.

Maybe this really is all just a hell on Earth.

And it was when he told them.

"What?!" Blossom screeched in a very _un_ womanly manner.

"Brick, are you sure?" Bubbles asked him later that night and he nodded. Now that Boomer had gone to bed, they could talk.

"Alright, so our kind of sort of father is the one who's all behind this?" Butch asked and Brick flinched.

"Y-yeah, kind of. But we don't know what he's been planning this time. Him and Mojo are in his life still, so it would be safe to assume so are the other villains." He explained and Blossom nodded.

"That's right. So they have to have a plan, it would just be too weird! Plus they still sent Boomer to attack/kidnap you so something is definitely up!"

The professor sat down at the dining table they were at with a grimace.

"So we're dealing with HIM, huh? This is going to be tricky."

Buttercup leaned back in her chair. "The guy was a creep, but this takes it to a whole new level." She whistled.

Blossom crossed her arms and thought.

"Well, I wouldn't want to go after him now. Later, but... we're not ready. Not against them all at once." She conceded and they all frowned. "HIM gave us enough trouble, so we need to be ready for when he see him next."

Brick sighed. "I just want to know why the heck I'm part of all this. Or how, really."

Blossom sighed. She opened her mouth to speak but closed it again with a defeated expression.

Then Buttercup cut in, "hey, uh, shouldn't we tell the mayor or something about all this?" They all seemed to think about that and the professor shook his head.

"Usually, we would. But right now Boomer can't handle that publicity. We made a huge fuss over him disappearing, it stretched on for six months before it finally started to die down a little. Telling everyone now would be reckless, and you know the mayor wouldn't keep this secret. We'll tell him when we're ready."

"And ready meaning when school starts again, right?" The tough girl asked and he paused. Bubbles looked at her and she elaborated. "Boomer probably needs to actually get back into society, and that includes school no matter how much we hate it. We need to start getting him used to people again before it's too late. All that time doing who knows what can't be good for the mind and he probably has a lot of backwards ideas- if sitting doggy-style for dinner on the floor was any indication."

They looked at her in shock, mostly Blossom. "Buttercup, you really thought of all that?"

She scowled, "hey! Just because I like whooping bad guy butt and food doesn't mean I don't think!" She banged her fist on the table and the professor held up his hand for quiet and attention.

"It seems we've made a decision, albeit a temporary one. Come on everyone, let's just head to bed. We need to keep our eyes out. For us and for Boomer." He sighed with a troubled face, eyebrows scrunched together and teeth worriedly biting at his lip.

With that they all stood up to get ready for bed but Blossom stopped them. "Oh! One more thing!" They all halted and looked to her.

She smiled at everyone.

"Merry Christmas!"


	8. Relaxation and Fun

The sun was out, scorching the Earth in a soft warm glow (for once not in a snowy landscape that winter), not a cloud in sight. A slight breeze blew through, and the sunlight made the snow glisten as it blanketed the busy streets of the city.

The group was out and about, walking down the streets with coats and scarves on, saying hello to the bustling citizens. Some children who were playing had dropped a ball and let it roll to Brick's feet. He grinned as he picked up the toy and threw it to the young boys as they shouted enthusiastically. Butch snorted.

"I would have thrown that thing as hard as I could," he mumbled while he folded his arms behind his back. Buttercup rolled her eyes, punching him in the arm. "Oh shut up. We both know that wouldn't go far."

Brick laughed at him. "Oooh! What are you gonna say, Butch? You aren't threatened, are you?" He smirked at his fuming brother.

"As if! Get over here Butterbutt!" Before she could run, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in for a big, wet lick on the face. "You can't get away from me!"

The girl practically gagged as she escaped his grasp and ran to her eldest sister. She grabbed her pink scarf and wiped her face on it, promptly making the other girl stick out her tongue in disgust.

"Ew! Buttercup! Gross!" Bubbles scrunched her nose up and shook her head while Blossom sent Buttercup a death glare as she sent the same look to Butch while the boy only whistled innocently.

The raven haired boy leapt over to his blonde brother and wrapped an arm around him while he grinned.

"So, booms, you excited? What's your style?" The blonde only flinched away while lightly pushing the boy back. He nervously played with his thumbs as he answered."W-what do y-you mean style?"

He shrugged nonchalantly inspecting the finger he just pulled from his ear.

"Dunno. How do you like to dress?"

Before he could answer, a high pitched squeal erupted through the air. Everyone but Boomer struggled to block out the sound. Brick looked around with narrowed eyes, trying to find the source as he protectively back up to his brothers.

 _An enemy?_

As it stopped, everyone looked around and then right to Bubbles who was jumping around excitedly and talking a mile a minute. At seeing the girl squealing more, but quieter, they all sighed, Boomer looking confused.

"Look! There it is!" They all looked forward, their eyes immediately lit up.

"The mall!"

Bubbles grabbed Boomer by the arm and practically dragged the panicking boy to the front doors, the rest of the group close behind.

Once inside, Boomer's eyes lit up and he opened his mouth in a silent 'oh'. Bubbles was just chattering animatedly to him, pointing out the different shops and stores surrounding them. People walked by watching them curiously before going on with their business, large shopping bags in hand.

Brick ran up to them, laying a hand on Boomer's shoulder.

"Ok little bro, what do you want to do? There's a second floor too if you want to go up there." Boomer looked at him, blinking. He then looked around at the large space, eyes taking in the lit up shop signs, bustling crowds, and wild children running around. A few kids ran right by them, pushing their way through the group of teens, stepping on Buttercup's foot. She yelped, holding her foot. She sighed impatiently.

"Come on! Decide already! These dumb kids are getting on my nerves!" She growled and Butch only laughed.

Blossom walked up in front of him and smiled. "Don't worry Boomer, take your time. The mall has plenty of things to do!" The boy only nodded at her. After a moment however of looking, he frowned and started to shake slightly.

"I-I don't know… What do you guys want to do?" He asked, eyes darting to the floor.

Brick sighed, "Well, we can go up to the arcade. Do you like video games?"

Boomer blinked and thought for a moment before he nodded. His brother smiled before steering the blonde through the crowd, the others following. They pushed their ways through the crowds, earning surprised gasps of glee for their heroes. A couple of children ran up eagerly, begging for autographs of Butch, Brick, Bubbles and Buttercup.

"What am I, chopped liver?" Blossom pouted, crossing her arms. Brick laughed, keeping a hand on Boomer's wrist, keeping a hold on the curious boy who kept looking at the different venders. "Sorry Blossy, you just aren't as awesome as us. Plus, we're the hot ones," he winked.

"Oh shut up, Brick!" Buttercup exclaimed, "you all know I'm the hottest." She puffed out her chest with a smug smile.

Butch rolled his eyes before winking at some passing girls. They then promptly sighed with hearts in their eyes before squealing and fainting.

"Trust me Butterbutt, I'm the hottest." She glared.

Bubbles coughed. "Hey, what about me? Can't I be hot?" Everyone stopped walking and stared at her.

…

"No." They all said, and resumed their journey.

"Well," Blossom said, " you can be the cutest Bubbles!" The blonde looked at her sister before squealing in joy.

"Yay!" She cried.

Butch scoffed. "Whatever. I think we can all agree Booms is the cutest." He had a slight mocking tone before he walked up to his blonde brother and ruffling his hair, earning an embarrassed blush from him. Everyone laughed, confusing the boy even more.

They all walked into the arcade that was lit up with flashing red and green lights, sounds of triggers and buttons being enthusiastically pushed over and over again. Boomer gasped slightly at the sight of the flashing game screens and kids running around the game room. He unconsciously gripped Brick's arm tighter.

"Don't worry, we're right here. The arcade is fun!" Brick said reassuringly. Boomer only nodded slightly. The green counterparts charged into the arcade, shoving each other trying to get to the boxing game, arguing all the while. Blossom only walked off to the skee ball area.

Bubbles skipped up to the two remaining brothers and grabbed Boomer's other arm. " Ok, Boomer! What do you want to play?" She grinned cheekily at him.

He looked at the ground again as he bit his lip. "I-I don't know… What do y-you want to play?" Brick frowned. "Boomer, this is your choice. Really, whatever you want." The blonde looked at his brother, eyes searching for any hint of a lie. Nothing.

He sighed before looking at all the different games. He stared at one game, looking back between Bubbles, the game, and Brick. Brick followed his brother's gaze and smiled before tugging them forward.

Bubbles gasped when she saw the game. "A shoot em' up? It's so scary! I'm not good at these kinds of games!" She cried in fear. Boomer noticed and stopped right in his tracks.

"Y-you don't like it? I-I'm sorry! Let's play s-something else then!" His eyes were wide and he started trembling with anxiety. Bubbles gasped and held his hand.

"No, no! Boomer, it's fine! I just wasn't expecting you to want to play that! I fight bad guys for a living, the game won't be that scary! I'm sorry for worrying you!" She rubbed his hand soothingly, succeeding in calming him down. He breathed deeply before he nodded at her. Brick put a hand on his shoulder, guiding him to the game. "Don't worry, this game will be fun. I'll play with you, alright?" Boomer nodded.

They picked out the guns from the holsters in the machine, Bubbles just shaking slightly as Brick chose the multiplayer option. After everything was ready, the game started.

…

Brick's mouth was open and his eyes were wide. He died. Again. He looked around him and noticed a small crowd gathering around them. Bubbles had a look mixed between mortification and shock. He looked back to Boomer and was surprised to see his character still alive and well despite the flood of enemies. He aimed for only a moment, before clicking the trigger. Each enemy on the screen was defeated one by one in a moment.

The crowd started to cheer, and the farther he got in the game, the more people came to watch. His score was rising dramatically, and soon, his siblings were all there as well. Butch was bouncing in place, his eye twitching, earning a disturbed look from Buttercup. Blossom just looked ready to faint from the accuracy of his shots.

More and more, Boomer shot each opponent down, nothing stopping him. His eyes were completely focused on the game, blocking out the fans surrounding him. He was already on the final level. He breathed once more before pulling the trigger.

The fight was brutal and intense, but not a single enemy could even touch his character as he sent several bullets sailing through the air and pierced each person. They all fell to the ground immediately. His character made it through wave after wave of opponents, and Bubbles squeaked every time a foe would jump in front of him. Boomer barely blinked as he shot each one straight through the head. Brick unconsciously cringed.

The main enemy stood at the top of the tower he was in, thunder and lightning striking, the bell in the clock tower rang heavily. His character's vision was blurring to where he could barely see the NPC and final character shouting at him as he determinedly held a gun. The bell was really screwing with his vision, yet Boomer barely batted a lash.

Brick's eyes were glued to the screen, and watched in shock as Boomer raised the gun to eye level, not even waiting for the screaming man to finish his speech.

"Useless," he muttered. He pulled the trigger one last time.

The man stopped his speech, waiting as a trail of blood trickled down his forehead before falling to his knees.

Everyone cheered with wide eyes and amazed grins.

Boomer snapped out of his daze and he blinked several times as he turned around. Brick walked over and put a hand on his shoulder and grinned.

"Boomer! What was that? No one's ever beaten this game!"

Several shouts of, " amazing!", "so cool!", and "you rock!" were heard.

"W-what? Really? I thought I was a b-bit too slow, and I almost g-got my character h-hurt!" He bit his lip, looking away. Bubbles and the others ran over to him, commenting on his 'performance'.

"Woah! That was awesome!"

"Great job Boomer!"

"How did you learn to be so skilled with a gun?!"

"No. Fucking. way! Dude!" Followed by a slap and an,"ow!"

Boomer only blinked repeatedly while shaking his head side to side, trying to understand. His cheeks grew red when he saw the crowd of people. All of a sudden, the arcade machine started spitting out ticket after ticket, and created a pile of small golden slips of paper. Boomer tilted his head before his eyes widened and his hands went to his face in a silent gasp.

"Oh no! D-did I break the game?! I-I'm so s-sorry!" He ran around for a moment before bowing repeatedly to Brick, who was struggling not to burst out laughing. He grabbed the pile of tickets as he shook his head, chuckling.

"Dude, it's fine. The tickets act as a reward depending on how far you get in the game. You got…." He trailed off, his breath catching in his throat. Boomer looked up at him, worry in his deep blue eyes.

"B-Brick? Are you alright?" He went to poke him, but he only twitched.

"You… You got… Three Hundred tickets?! How the heck did you…?"

Butch groaned. "Seriously? That many? Lucky!"

Boomer looked between them. "I-Is that a good thing?"

Buttercup clapped a hand on his shoulder and sighed. "That has to be the record amount of tickets we've ever gotten in one game." Her eyes were dull and lifeless as a dark aura seemed to surround her. Boomer shivered.

"Well, why don't we play a bit more before we leave?" Blossom had a troubled smile on her face as she tried to cheer up her green clad sister.

With that, everyone played more games, the crowd having dispersed. When they were all done, they cashed in their prizes. When they were all walking out, you could see everyone was sulking depressingly and Boomer happily holding onto a huge stuffed bear with a blue ribbon around it's neck.

He blinked in confusion when he saw the state of the others. "W-what's wrong?"

The rest of the day passed without incident as they walked through the different shops. Bubbles heard Boomer's growling stomach before taking notice of hers and suggested that they all get something to eat.

The food court was packed with shouting people and excited kids throwing food along with crying babies and toddlers. The sight alone made Boomer go pale and slowly back away. Brick sighed before he gently grabbed his arm and tugged him forward.

Blossom and Bubbles ended up getting salads, while Butch and Buttercup once again argued over the stack of ribs they stupidly decided to 'share', while Brick only decided to have a slice of pizza from the italian restaurant. Boomer carefully poked at his plate of salad as well, his nose crinkling in suspicion.

Blossom smiled at him. "Relax, Boomer. The food is safe."

He looked at her and nodded slowly, saying, "ok…"

Butch rolled his eyes at him. "Dude, why a salad? You need to get some meat on your bones!" Boomer blushed and darted his eyes away.

"I-I'm sorry. I'll t-try and eat more meat n-next time…" Before the raven haired boy could say anything stupid, Buttercup immediately started a new argument over their newest set of video games. Everyone then resumed their normal conversations, forgetting about the quiet blonde sitting with them.

Unbeknownst to them, Boomer let a small smile grace his lips.

…

"How in the hell did we get here?"

Butch's voice was rough and strained as his eye twitched at the scene before him. Bubbles was spinning around squealing while Buttercup and Blossom just looked about ready to leave her. Brick was just spluttering and blushing from ear to ear from seeing the clothes around him.

Bubbles was trying to pick out different outfits for Boomer, and had excitedly pulled out a white frilly dress filled with light blue ruffles and over-all cute poofy-ness. It even had a royal blue choker.

Boomer only blinked at it curiously as Butch had burst out laughing. "N-no way! You aren't serious, are you Bubbs?" He was holding his sides, struggling to breath through that small sentence.

Bubbles giggled and smiled sweetly at the green-clad boy. "Come on, it's nice! I want to see Boomer in a dress!"

Blossom sighed as she walked over to the pair. "Bubbles, I don't know about this. Dresses are for, well, girls." Buttercup nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Awww!" Bubbles whined,"Come on Blossy! Pleeeaaasssse?"

"Bubbles, you should ask Boomer that!" Blossom's eye twitched as she looked away from the killer puppy eyes from her little blonde sister. The devastating eyes were then set on the other blonde, who only gulped and held up his hands. "U-umm, that's f-fine I guess…"

"YIPEE!" Bubbles cheered as she danced around, waving her hands and the frilly dress around in the air, effectively catching the attention of any other shoppers in the space.

Brick only sunk down and facepalmed with a small blush of embarrassment. "L-let's just finish this already…"

With that, Bubbles had promptly shoved the dress and choker into the boy's arms and then practically dragged and threw him into the nearest clothing stall. The girl ran around the store as she squealed some more over different items, before she finally picked up a cute pair of baby blue boots and threw them into the stall as well.

"Wear those too Boomie!" She called out, which was followed by a small,"ow!"

A few minutes went by for the awkward teens as they shuffled around listening to the song, 'I like you, I love you.'

Butch and Buttercup just stood there, elbowing each other and sending death glares, while Blossom tried her best to set her sights on anything but the maid outfits in the corner, while Brick was struggling to keep Bubbles from literally trying to buy the whole store from the terrified owned. After he called her down, the owner only backed away slowly, eyes wide in hesitation and fear before he ran.

Another moment passed before they heard the door creak open and they all shot their heads back to see Boomer.

The boy looked at them, lowered his eyes, and fully walked out of the changing room, letting them fully see him. Blossom blushed and held a hand to her mouth, Butch struggled to stop his incoming nosebleed while Buttercup only stared on in surprise, her mouth hanging wide open. Brick only had a large deep blush on his face as he looked away.

Bubbles skipped over to him, barely containing her excitement. "Boomer! You look so cute!"

"Th-thank you…?" He shyly smiled at them, holding a hand over his other elbow, before going back to staring intently at the ground. The dress was slightly big on his thin frame, the straps almost falling from his pale shoulders.

The dress stopped around mid-thigh, and just below his knees was a pair of light, baby blue boots being tied all the way from the top to bottom. Adorned on his neck was the royal blue choker with a silver pendant attached to it. The small accessory brought out his deep blue eyes and, Brick noticed, his freckles?

Huh. He never noticed that before.

Then he noticed how the blonde was shuffling nervously, and instantly felt the strange glances being sent their way. He growled before glaring back at the gawking people who were -still- staring at them.

"What? Never seen a boy in a dress before?" He crossed his arms, earning a snicker from Butch. "Jeez bro, never thought you'd be so protective," he said. Brick glared at him too.

"Does it l-look bad?" Boomer asked, shaking a bit more from the varying reactions from everyone.

Blossom blinked and spluttered for a moment before waving her hands frantically. "N-no, of course not! You look great Boomer," she said, trying to keep the boy from panicking himself.

Buttercup chuckled, "so what, you prefer him in a dress now? I didn't know you rolled that way pinky." Blossom felt the blood run to her cheeks as she stuttered terribly, trying to scold her sister.

Bubbles clapped her hands, grinning. Her sky blue eyes were wide and glistening with determination.

"That's it! I want the dress now!" She announced. Butch just stared at her.

"You what?" Brick asked, scratching the back of his neck in confusion.

"I said I want the dress now!"

"But Bubbles," Blossom said, "why didn't you just try it on yourself?"

Bubbles just chuckled nervously."Ah, well, I could have, but I really just wanted to see Boomer wear a dress. He's like the guy me, so it's fine!"

Boomer blushed deeply, looking wide eyed at her. He opened his mouth to speak before closing it again and once again stared at the floor.

"You seriously want that dress?" Buttercup looked disgusted at the frilly piece of clothing before her.

"Yes!" She nodded.

"No," Butch deadpanned.

Everyone looked at him, eyeing him questioningly.

"Why?" Brick asked the suddenly moody teen.

"Wait," Buttercup said, "you aren't being...protective, are you?" She grinned slyly at him, earning an irritated, yet small blush to come to the raven's cheeks.

"N-no! It's not that!" He looked away.

"I would understand actually," she shrugged. "I mean, come on, Bubbles in a risqué dress like that? Woo, I don't know."

Butch's eye was twitching madly as he tried to stare poker faced at his counterpart. His jaw was clenched, as well as his fists.

"I am NOT being protective. That's Brick's job." Brick gave him a look, "hey!"

"Aw, Butch, you're so sweet!" Bubbles exclaimed happily.

Butch gulped before he backed away. "No way! I don't care, really! In fact, I hate you in those gross dresses! You're taste is horrible!" He smirked at his quick thinking as he crossed his arms defiantly, but it was soon erased when he saw the girl's face.

Bubbles was glaring darkly with an angry blush on her cheeks as she was pouting with fake tears in her eyes.

Everyone backed away from the girl. Buttercup had even gulped slightly.

"You're dead," Brick muttered, doing a facepalm.

"Butch!" She yelled, "how could you?! I hate you too you big meanie!" She then started to repeatedly 'punch' him in the chest, much to his slight fear and amusement.

"H-hey Bubbles, wait-"

"YOU JERK!"

…

The group was then seen walking from the mall with again a depressed aura surrounding them. Butch was the worst off with a swollen and red cheek with bandages on his face.

Boomer, who was now dressed back in his white t-shirt, red jacket and black pants, sent several panicked glances between the beaten boy and a skipping Bubbles and shivered. _Ruthless,_ he thought. He hugged his bear tighter.

"At least we got Boomer some clothes," Blossom forced a smile to the group.

Brick nodded, "yeah, but did we really have to get kicked out? It's not like Boomer was doing anything wrong." He sighed when he saw said blonde blushing nervously.

"They shoulda just kicked this moron out," Buttercup punched Butch in the head.

"Ow!" He yelled as he held his injured head in his hands.

Bubbles giggled. "He shouldn't have said my dresses were ugly, and then none of his would have ever happened." Everyone scooted away from the girl as a creepy smile marked her face.

"W-well," Brick stuttered, "let's just get home. It's been a long day."

Suddenly, Boomer stopped, earning all of their attention.

"Boomer?" Blossom asked, "is something wrong?"

The blonde looked at her and vigorously shook his head, letting a few strands of his blonde hair fall in his eyes. "N-no, that's not it! I-I just… I wanted to say…th-thank you for buying me these things!" He clasped his hands together and did a quick small bow to them as he felt the heat rise to his cheeks.

Brick grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "No prob little bro! You needed some new clothes, unlike Bubbles."

"Hey!" Said blonde pouted.

Butch ran over and threw his arm around his brother's neck and made him jump. "Yeah, no prob! Even though I nearly had my balls torn off, I still had a good time! Suck it Buttercup, Boomer beat you at video games!" He stuck his tongue out at her.

Buttercup clenched her fists and glared heavily at him before sprinting after the boy, who in turn, swiftly ran from the ferocious teen.

"Do you want to never have children you moron?!" She was practically breathing fire as she chased the boy around the parking lot, earning many confused looks from any people passing by.

Brick was laughing heavily at his idiotic brother, and soon, Blossom and Bubbles joined in as well, having tears in their eyes. Boomer just look worriedly between the feuding teens waving his hands around in a panic.

Soon, the group had arrived home, much to their father's pleasure. He smiled kindly at them.

"Oh, you're back! Did you have fun?" He asked as folded his newspaper and shifted in his seat on the couch.

"Yeah! Boomer beat us at video games, I put Boomer in a dress, and Butch nearly lost his ability to have children three times today!" Bubble's said nonchalantly.

"..." The Professor just stared bewildered at them, before he shook his head.

"Where did I go wrong?" He muttered to himself as he stood up to help move their bags of clothing to the kitchen table.

"Let's see here…" He said quietly as he shuffled through the large shopping bags.

"Oh!" He exclaimed,"some overalls, a turtleneck, some jackets, jeans, and…a dress?" He wondered aloud as he took out said piece of clothing. Sure enough, it was the same dress from before.

Bubbles giggled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. "Well, I just thought that dress was the cutest! Don't you think Professor?"

"Is this for you?" He asked.

"We originally had Boomer try it on…" Butch muttered.

"Well then," The man sighed, "It looks like you want to be a maid."

"What?!" She screeched.

"Is this really the path you want to go down? You can barely even clean a bathroom! I thought you wanted to protect the city! When did I lose her, Blossom? When?" He asked dramatically, pulling a hand his his face with fake tears in his eyes.

"I wish I could tell you dad, I wish I could," She sighed and shook her head.

"B-but I don't want be a maid!" She cried out, and then a river of tears fell down her cheeks, effectively getting Blossom and Butch's attention as they tried to calm her down, making the older man chuckle.

"So Boomer, did you have fun?" The older man directed his attention to the younger boy. He smiled slightly at him and nodded.

"Y-yes…"

The Professor frowned."Boomer, is this stutter going to become a problem?"

"N-no! Not at all s-sir!" His eyes widened and he held his hands up defensively as he backed away cautiously.

"Woah," Brick said, "calm down. It just worries us, that's all." He set his hand on his brother's shoulder and smiled at him. Boomer took a deep breath and nodded, trying to calm his rapidly-beating heart.

"O-ok…D-darn it, I did it again!" He pouted, only making his brothers laugh.

"Hey dude, have you ever thought of, you know, going to therapy?" Butch nonchalantly asked.

"Therapy? What's that?" Boomer blinked at him with wide eyes.

"Therapy is where you can find a trained specialist to talk to without fear of being judged or being unsafe. People who work in this field usually try and help you to overcome any anxiety or problems you may be struggling with," the Professor practically recited.

"Do I n-need to go to therapy?" He asked.

"It's only if you would want to." Brick hastily replied, as he tried to make sure to not frighten the boy.

Blossom smiled at him, "Brick is right. It's your choice, so there's no need to feel rushed."

He nodded at her in understanding.

"Blah, blah, blah! Can we talk about his later? I'm starving!" Buttercup groaned, hanging her head.

The Professor chuckled. "I figured we could all just order some dinner tonight, how does that sound?"

"YES!" Butch punched the air, a wide grin stretched across his face.

"Boomer, is there anything specific you'd like?" The man asked.

"Um, n-not really, no." He bit his lip.

"That's fine. I'll order some pizza." The man smiled and the blonde seemed to appreciate that when he stopped chewing on his lip.

"Yay!" Bubbles jumped for joy at the sound of pizza and Butch and Buttercup were instantly drooling. They promptly started to shove the professor to the phone, telling him what they wanted.

"Well, I'm going to take a shower," Blossom suddenly announced with a grimace on her face.

"Have fun," Butch paused between his food-focused words and winked at her. She rolled her eyes and started her trek up the stairs.

"Hey Blossom!" Bubbles called after her. The redhead looked back at her sister over her shoulder as she was already halfway up the stairs.

"Yes Bubbles?" Her eye was already twitching.

"Would you like to wear my dress?"


	9. Ace

Boomer was laying in his bed, well, Bubbles' bed to be more accurate, and was staring at the ceiling. His eyes were half-lidded and dull as he only listened to the crickets chirping outside and the constant ticking of the clock on the nightstand. It had already gotten dark, and soon everyone had turned in for bed.

Boomer sighed and turned onto his side and stared out the window occasionally wondering about the different flickering stars that were brightly claiming the night as their own.

The blonde only curled into himself a bit more and shivered as his mind kept going back to a single thought, or a single person. His lip trembled slightly and he bit it to keep it still.

He was about to turn back and shut off the lamp sitting next to him on the nightstand, but a sudden movement caught his eye. He sat up and rubbed his eyes again before he stared at the window.

 _Tap._

There. A pebble clinked against the spotless glass and Boomer had to blink a couple more times before he stood up. The boy slowly walked over to the window and he pushed back the baby blue curtains. He hesitated before he cautiously looked out the window. His eyes widened and his throat instantly tightened and his pulse quickened.

There, standing on the front lawn, idly tossing a rock from his hand, was Ace. Ace looked at him through his dark sunglasses and smirked. With a wave of his hand, the green man walked away and down the street.

Boomer gasped slightly as his hands clenched the window pane tightly, his knuckles turning white. He felt as if all the blood rushed from his body and that someone had taken a knife and wrenched it into his gut and twisted it. He wanted to throw up.

Thinking fast, Boomer quickly ran to his door and threw on his shoes. He grabbed a blue v-neck sweater and threw it on as well, ignoring its girly style. He quietly opened his door and once he was out of the room, he shut it as quickly as he could without making a sound. The blonde then gathered his thoughts and felt as his feet slowly lifted from the floor. He silently flew to the front door and exited the house, not a sound being made.

As he flew from his house, Boomer couldn't help but be grateful for his stealth lessons. Focusing his attention again, the teen quickly scanned the streets as he flew high above the city, avoiding any notice of the night crawlers called citizens.

His eyes hardened instantly when they locked onto Ace as he casually walked down an alleyway, whistling an indescribable tune. The blonde frowned as he quickly flew down to the same alley.

When he landed, he couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat when the man's whistling stopped.

Ace froze.

A moment passed before a chuckle was heard and he took his hands from his pockets. Suddenly, a rock was thrown faster than any human towards Boomer. Boomer barely blinked as he caught it with ease and crushed the hard rock in his hands and let the dust blow away in the small breeze that blew by.

If he was going to be taken back, he might as well look cool going down.

Ace smirked as he turned around the fully face the boy.

"Well, looks like you haven't lost much of your speed at least. Or your brains, since you decided to show."

Boomer clenched his fists and glared slightly. "What is it Ace? W-Why are you here?" He silently cursed his stuttering.

Ace shrugged, "can't I come see my little buddy? I thought we were friends."

Boomer shuddered. "We are not! I of all people would know," He muttered. "Now tell me why y-you're really here."

"My, my, HIM wouldn't like this tone of yours, Boomer. I wonder what he would say if he found out how you've been speaking to his brigade leader. Wait, he already does," Ace grinned in sick glee when he saw Boomer instantly pale and his eyes contract in obvious fear.

"Now listen kid," Ace began and put his hands in his pockets,"things are gonna go down soon. Either you get your ass back to HQ and get ready, or we'll just have to finish off you and your friends ourselves."

"Y-you wouldn't. I-I'm p-part of this whole p-plan." Boomer felt the cold sweat that started to form at his temples at the expression on the man's face.

"Not really. You see, you were never that important to the plan. You really think HIM would trust such a moron like you with your _feelings_ to actually become the head of this operation? In your dreams, pip-squeak." Ace scowled.

"W-why then? Why train me for so long?" Boomer asked. He needed to know as much as he could. But he also needed more time- for Mojo!

"Heh, that's none of your beezewax, kid. Now, are you coming back or not?" Ace took a hand out of his pocket and adjusted his sunglasses.

Boomer swallowed hard.

"I…" He clutched the sweater he was wearing and he felt his eyes sting slightly. He bit his lip and continued to apply more and more pressure until it broke the sensitive skin.

"I-I d-don't w-w-want t-to." He barely whispered out in his hoarse voice, but it was enough for Ace to hear. Boomer was shaking all over, and his heart was thundering in his chest.

He frowned slightly. "Well," he said, "I thought you were smarter. Guess not. Well, I might as well do what I came here for."

Boomer was about to ask what he meant when the older man suddenly snapped his fingers. The teen instantly felt something behind him and he quickly turned around. His eyes spotted nothing, but then he looked down when he felt something on his ankles. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth in a silent scream.

A large, thin green snake was wrapping itself around his ankles, making it's way up his body. The boy struggled to pull it off, but it only tightened itself around him more, eventually making him hiss in pain.

Boomer heard chuckling and immediately shot his head back to see Ace grinning maliciously.

"So? How is it? You like my snake? Not even some super-kid like you can kill that thing. It was made for one purpose and one purpose only." He said as he put his hands on his hips.

Boomer struggled more and more as he tried to bust free from the snake that was now halfway up his torso. It was moving too fast to really concentrate any force in one spot. His chest was being crushed and he even felt snapping in his rib-cage.

"P-please! Stop!" He cried out, but it wasn't loud enough for anyone else to hear. His eyes stung even more and tears threatened to spill from his blue eyes.

"I-I'm sorry! I- I was just trying t-to finish my m-mission myself! I was g-going after the girls!"

"Heh. Yeah right. HIM knows your little plan and let me tell you it's not going to last long. No matter what you do, he'll always be right there."

The snake was close enough to Boomer's neck. It's red eyes practically glowed as a dark purple aura surrounded it. The reptile lunged at his neck, fangs out as the snake sank its teeth into his pale skin. Boomer screamed in agonizing pain, and the snake disappeared just as quickly as it had come.

The teen fell to his knees, groaning in agony as he held his neck that was dripping blood. His eyes drooped slightly as his vision blurred. Everything seemed to slow down as his chest ached and his breathing slowed. He knew he was probably crying, though he couldn't feel it. He barely even noticed as his legs gave out and he fell face-forward onto the ground. He grunted as his eyes glazed over. He could barely see the green man in the distance as everything no longer made sense to his poor eyes.

He faintly heard footsteps as Ace stepped forward and crouched by him. He barely felt as he grabbed a handful of his hair and brought their faces together. He could see his own pitiful body reflected in his sunglasses.

He wanted to be sick.

"One more thing," Ace smirked, fang glinting.

"HIM is pissed."

That was all Boomer heard and saw before his vision suddenly went black.

...

"What do you mean he's gone?!" Brick asked, the glass of water he was holding promptly fell and broke on the ground as he ran upstairs from the kitchen to Bubbles. The blonde girl had tears falling down her cheeks as she was standing outside her room. The other teens ran to her as well at her outburst and crowded around her. Brick ran into her room and his eyes widened when he saw the room.

Nothing. There was no one in the room, and not a single hint of Boomer was in the rest of the house. Blossom and everyone else soon ran in as well, including the Professor. Bubbles was crying into her hands, and Buttercup was soothingly rubbing her back.

"What the hell?!" Butch shouted as he glared around the room as him and Blossom checked in the closet and under the bed.

"Where could he be?" Blossom wondered aloud. Brick sighed and ran a hand over his face. He looked at Bubbles," Bubbles, what happened exactly?"

She sniffled, " I-I just came to check on him and wake him up. I thought m-maybe we could go ice skating!" She cried harder.

"Hey, it's alright! C'mon Bubbs, don't cry!" Buttercup tried to sooth her and Blossom only put a hand on her shoulder.

"Wow, you're being awfully nice Butterbutt," Butch sneered at her and she only growled, signaling him to shut up.

The professor walked over to the window and he blinked.

"Um, girls," he said and everyone looked at him," I think I found something." They all walked over to the man. "Look, the window isn't completely closed. Do you think Boomer did this?" He asked.

Blossom stepped forward and examined the window. Indeed, passed the light blue curtains was the only partially closed glass. Brick pushed past her and lifted the window and looked out of it. His shoulders sunk.

"Do... do you think something happened to him?" He asked as he stared out at the empty snowy landscape outside. Blossom put a hand on his shoulder and Butch scoffed.

"Please, I'd be wondering if the kid just ran away." He said as he crossed his arms.

Brick glared at his brother. "Hey, he didn't run away!"

The noirette glared back. "How do you know?"

"Because," he replied, " I know my brother. Unlike you, I know he wouldn't do that again."

"Oh yeah, 'cause you just know everything," Butch glared back. "Even though you barely know anything that has to do with the kid!"

Brick was about to retort when Bubbles stood between them. "No, stop! Please, we need to find Boomer! I don't believe he ran away, he's not like that! We have to find him!" She had long since wiped her tears, and she had a determined look in her light, sky blue eyes.

The professor nodded in agreement, "I agree with Bubbles. We need to go out and look for him. I doubt he would just leave without telling us, and I think the only logical conclusion would be that something had happened to him." He said.

"But where do we start?" Blossom asked.

Buttercup shrugged, "milk cartons?"

Suddenly, the phone started ringing downstairs, startling them all. Everyone jumped a little before the girls flashed downstairs, followed by the boys while the professor ran.

Blossom picked up the phone from the night stand in the living room first." Hello?" She asked.

"Hello, Blossom? It's the mayor!" The mayor's high pitched and aged voice rang out on the other end.

"I have important news for you!" He exclaimed.

"What is it Mr. Mayor?" Blossom asked as Buttercup tapped her foot impatiently next to her, while the others just listened intently.

"You have to come quick! We found someone unconscious in an alleyway. We took him to the hospital and..." He trailed off.

"And?" Blossom urged.

"And he says his name is Boomer," he finished.

"B-Boomer?" She stuttered, "A-Alright Mr. Mayor. We're on our way now!" She said and hung up. The redhead turned to them and nodded, saying," alright you guys, looks like they found Boomer before us. To the hospital!" She announced and then ran to the door and flew out of the house.

Everyone followed, but Buttercup stopped before she could leave as well. She looked back at the Professor.

"You want a ride?" She asked but he shook his head.

"You go on ahead, I'll take my car," he said and waved her off. She nodded and flew to her siblings.

The fly was quick and trouble-free as they raced to the large, modernized building. The sun was out, and yet Bubbles couldn't help but shiver from the still falling snow. She looked over to Brick and frowned in worry for the serious looking teen. However, shouting caught her attention from the ginger and she looked down towards the approaching hospital. She gasped and stopped along with everyone else.

Crowds of people were gathered around the entrance of the hospital with signs up and cameras out as they bombarded any staff that were outside trying to calm them down. Even police officers were arriving on the scene for crowd control along with news vans. Butch growled in anger as he was about to swoop down to the gathering, but Blossom stopped him.

"Wait Butch! Not yet! What should we do about this? Why do you think they're here?" She asked.

Brick narrowed his eyes, "I bet they're here for Boomer. Word must have gotten out that he was here."

"Hey, I'm gonna go and see what's going on," Butch said before speeding down to the ground.

"Butch!" Blossom sighed as she did a facepalm.

"Why does it matter so much if he goes down there? His funeral for going into such a huge crowd. Seriously, it looks like black Friday down there!" Buttercup muttered.

"Because Buttercup," Blossom said, "we need to focus on getting to Boomer. If the news sees him then they won't leave him alone, no one will! No one knows that Boomer has been with us. For all they know, this is the first time he's appeared. Kind of."

"Well we need to get inside! We need to find Boomie!" Bubbles exclaimed.

"Boomie?" Brick raised a brow.

"Yeah, my nickname for him! Isn't it cute?" She grinned cheekily.

He rolled his eyes before he looked down to Butch who was, in fact, being surrounded by shouting citizens and news crews. He sighed before he decided to fly down to him.

"Brick! Oh come on, not you too," Blossom groaned before she finally gave in and followed him, and then Bubbles and Buttercup as well.

"-and I reaaallly don't want to look too protective or anything, 'cause I'm not!" Butch finished and then waved to his approaching brother.

"Hey Bricky boy! I was just telling these news dudes about what I thought of Boomer being here."

"Mr. Brick! What is your opinion as well on the matter of Boomer finally returning after ten years?" One news anchor asked as he held a microphone to the teen's face.

"W-well, I really don't want to talk about this now. I just came down to get my idiot of a brother here to come back." He said and glared at Butch who only shrugged. Then, Blossom and Bubbles landed by the two as well, which only caused more commotion.

"Blossom, Bubbles! You two have helped raise Brick and Butch for so long. So what will you do now with Boomer?" Another woman asked and handed her microphone to Blossom who only blinked.

"Well, I don't see why Boomer would be treated any differently. He will be given the same option to live with us and will be given as much happiness and love as any other boy his age. We will try our best to show him that he was a family in us and that he has no reason to think otherwise," she said with as much confidence as she could. The cameras flashed several times and more questions were asked.

"What do you think happened to him during all these years?"

"Do you think this is a trap from the villains?"

"Why was he found in the alleyway?"

"Will you try and pursue the still hidden villains?"

"What is your plan for dealing with the situation?"

More cameras, more questions, more shouting. It was loud, and booming. Brick looked around and noticed different signs saying, 'Welcome Back Boomer!' and others saying, 'Protect Townsville! Keep The Villains Away!'

His frustration was rising dramatically, and it only increased when he saw Butch only posing dramatically in front of the cameras and flirting with the girls around him, while Bubbles was only starting to cry dramatically in fear at all of the attention and Blossom only smacked Butch in the head and scolded him all the while trying to calm her sister down. Buttercup and Butch then started arguing when he told Blossom to quit being such a 'biatch.'

Everything was getting louder and louder and mixed together, and Brick started glaring as he balled his fists and tried to ignore all the shouting people. He then pictured Boomer, sitting all alone in the hospital and he remembered his paranoia around new places and people. His eyes widened when he imagined the scared boy while everyone was just sitting around.

"WILL EVERYONE JUST SHUT UP!" Brick shouted at the top of his lungs, effectively silencing everyone, even the cameras stopped.

"That's it, everyone just get out of here! We need to get in that hospital! We don't have all the answers yet, we're still working on things! I don't have time to deal with all this bullshit when I could be going in and getting answers instead of just watching you all take pictures of Butch posing or Bubbles' crying!" He felt something snap.

"He's too anxious to be here on his own and you're all making it worse! So just pack up and get out!" He scolded and everyone was just sitting there speechless.

Blossom stepped forward and reached her hand out to him in a calm manner. "Brick, we're sorry. Listen, we know we have a lot on our plates right now, alright? We just need to breath, ok? Just relax and we'll go and find Boomer now, alright?" She said soothingly to the angry teen.

His shoulders finally relaxed and he stood straighter. His face still a bit red, he nodded and looked away. "Right. Sorry," he said.

Bubbles smiled, "it's alright Brick! We've been watching over Boomer, and you should know by now that he'll be fine." She said, but then froze. She covered her mouth and widened her eyes.

"Oops," she said. Suddenly, the paparazzi was back and were crowding Bubbles now.

"Wait, do you mean you've been watching over Boomer?"

"How did you find Boomer in the first place?"

"Does this mean you've been keeping all this from the city the whole time?"

"Oh no..." Butch groaned.

"Great job Bubbs," Buttercup sighed. Bubbles whimpered.

"Let's just go!" Brick said and quickly flashed to the entrance and inside the hospital and the others soon followed and ignored the news crews who were then trying to get in.

Brick ran over to the front desk and asked," Boomer Jojo, where is he?"

The woman at the desk only looked onto her computer and replied, "he's on the fourth floor, room 213. He should be ready for visitors now." He didn't even bother to say anything else as he dashed up the stairs past any still roaming people.

"Thank you," Blossom said before her and the others flew after him.

It took no time at all as they raced through the seemingly endless hallways and staircases before they found Boomer's room. Brick wasted no time before he quickly opened the door and walked inside.

"Boomer!" He exclaimed as him and the others came into the room, Buttercup shutting the door behind them.

Sure enough, Boomer was sitting in a white hospital bed watching TV. The blonde boy only jumped when he heard the sudden noise and looked at the new group inside. His eyes widened and he grinned.

"Brick!" He said and jumped out of the bed to run to the other boy. He made the motion to hug him, but then stopped himself and just stared at the ground with the remote in hand.

"Boomer, what happened? Where have you been?" Brick asked.

"We've been so worried!" Bubbles said and hugged the other and he flinched slightly but still returned the gesture.

"I-I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Dude, have you seen the crowds out there? The whole city wants to see you!" Butch commented as he looked out the window.

Blossom sighed, "Boomer, why would you leave? We thought you ran away!" She said. Boomer looked at her when Bubbles finally let go of him.

"I d-didn't m-mean too..." he said.

"Woah, is that a vampire bite? Cool!" Buttercup said with wide eyes when she gestured to Boomer's neck.

He jumped slightly and covered his neck while he blinked in confusion, "what? A vampire? I d-don't know w-what y-you mean..."

"Oh my gosh, he's a vampire now!" Butch half-yelled.

Brick facepalmed and glared at him, "shut up. Don't be stupid. He just got a bite or something."

"Jeez, don't be such a jerk," Butch pouted and crossed his arms.

"I'm not being a jerk, you're just being stupid," he replied. He then looked at Boomer who was starting to tremble a bit.

"Boomer, can you tell us what happened?" Brick asked again and Boomer only stared at his feet.

"Please Boomer? We won't be mad," Blossom said.

"E-Everything is r-ruined now. B-Because of me…"

"What do you mean Boomer?" Bubbles asked.

"B-because, they… th-they want me b-back..." He said and sat down and took his hand away from his neck.

"Boomer, what are you talking about?" Blossom asked.

He sighed. "I… don't w-want to talk about it… P-Please." His voice slightly cracked. They all stared at him in worry but still dropped it.

Suddenly, the Professor burst through the doors with torn clothing and messy hair covered in dirt and sticks.

"Girls! Boys!" He said as he stumbled over to them.

"Professor! What happened?" Blossom asked as she helped him limp to an unoccupied chair by the bed.

"Are you alright?!" Bubbles asked and knelt by him.

"I-I'm alright. You should have seen them! News crews everywhere! People charging through the hospital grounds! Once they saw me get out of my car, I never had a chance. They surrounded me and they wouldn't let me go until I answered all their questions!"

"Poor Professor!" Bubbles cried.

"That's it! Those guys are starting to really piss me off!" Buttercup growled and rolled her sleeves up.

"Calm down Buttercup, you can't hurt the civilians." Blossom sighed.

"Can't we at least scare em' or something?!" Buttercup crossed her arms.

"No, Buttercup. Now, we need to get Boomer home," she said.

"Boomer, are you alright? Why were you in an alleyway?" The Professor asked and the boy only looked away and gripped his knees with his hands.

"I-I'm fine..." He mumbled.

Brick shook his head, "he won't tell us what happened. We'll talk about it later, I guess."

All of a sudden, stomping and yelling were heard outside the room. Screams of terror sounded in the halls, and the group could practically feel the floor shaking.

"Oh no-" Buttercup gasped. "-they're back!" The Professor squeaked out.

Then there was banging on the door and scratching noises. Slowly, the door knob turned slightly. Boomer and the Professor stood up. Everyone but Boomer backed up slowly as the doorknob kept turning.

Boomer looked confused. "W-what? What's g-going on?" He asked.

And then, the lock clicked. The door was pushed open and hit the wall so hard it cracked. Newscasters and fans and all kinds of people poured into the room, taking pictures and holding microphones to Boomer.

"Boomer! Where have you been all these years?"

"Mr. Boomer, have you been staying with your brothers and the Powerpuff Girls all this time?"

"Do you know where the other villains are?"

"Boomer, are you working with HIM?"

The last statement made Boomer's breathing stop and he froze. He instantly paled and his knees buckled. Brick saw this and immediately dove to catch him. Boomer was shaking terribly and his eyes glazed over slightly in fear as his pupils dilated.

"Boomer!" Brick shouted and shook him slightly, but he was unheard.

"H-HIM..." Boomer breathed.

Brick barred his teeth and glared at the other people in the room.

"Get out! We don't want to deal with your stupid cameras right now!" He shouted and everyone backed away, but still continued to take pictures.

"Hey! Didn't you hear him?!" Buttercup yelled. No one listened.

Bubbles squinted her eyes against all of the flashing lights and held onto the Professor's coat.

"Come on! Let's go!" She said.

Butch ran to the window and opened it. He jumped out and waved to everyone else. "Come on! I don't feel like turning this into another episode of the Walking Dead!" He shouted.

Soon, Bubbles (who was carrying the Professor), Blossom, and Buttercup jumped out. Brick gave one last look to the people who were trying to creep closer to them and then hoisted Boomer up into his arms and ran to the window as well.

He jumped out and joined the others, but then Blossom groaned.

"What?" Brick asked her.

"We need someone to sign Boomer out," she said.

"Ha! I wonder who the poor sucker will be to go back into that hell-hole!" Butch laughed.

Everyone froze and then slowly looked at him. Slowly, his laughing stopped and died down and he blinked in confusion at everyone.

"What? What are you all staring at?" He asked.

Finally, it dawned on him and he only huffed.

"Oh, no! You're not going to send me in there!" Still staring.

"Aw, come on!" Still staring.

"Nuh-uh! I'm not going!" He crossed his arms. Still staring.

"Seriously?" Still. Staring.

"I'm gonna kill you guys for this if I don't die!" He growled out and then flew back down to the entrance where there were still crowds of people shoving each other to get in.

The others only shook off his comment and then flew back to their house. Once inside, they all walked to Boomer's room. Brick gently laid him on the bed and Blossom left to get some water. Brick sighed and sat on the bed by his brother.

"I can't believe they did that," he said with disbelief as his eye twitched.

"I know, how could they do that?!" Bubbles cried out.

"Who knew news people were such jerks?" Buttercup muttered while she leaned on the door frame.

"They shouldn't have just burst in like that! This is why we stuck to crime as kids!" Brick groaned.

"Yeah! Look what they did to Boomie!" Bubbles was on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry Bubbles, I'm sure Boomer will be fine," the professor reassured and put his hands on her shoulders. "Brick, I think you should go and get some rest after this. You've been really irritated lately," the scientist suggested.

Brick glared at him, "shut it old man. I don't need you telling me what to do either."

The Professor widened his eyes and Bubbles gasped. Buttercup started coughing in surprise as a failed attempt to hold her laughter in.

"Brick Utonium! I know you're having a tough time, but I will not tolerate such words from you! Maybe Butch, maybe Buttercup, but not from you!" He scolded.

Brick only balled his fists and stood up defiantly. It was at that moment that Blossom walked in.

"Hey, I got Boomer some water-" she stopped." Um, am I interrupting something?" She asked.

Brick turned away, "no, not at all." He sat back down with a frown etched on his face.

Blossom only raised a brow at him before walking over to Boomer. The boy was finally starting to breathe normally again and his body became less stiff. His eyes started to focus again and he blinked. Slowly, his eyes shifted around before they settled on Blossom.

"B-Blossom?" He asked quietly. She smiled at him reassuringly.

"Hey Boomer, don't worry. Everything is alright now. You're back home now," she said.

"No... N-no camera m-men?" He asked.

"No camera men," she affirmed. The red-head then looked at the glass of water she was holding and held it out.

"I got you some water," she said. Boomer looked at it for a moment before slowly sitting up.

"T-thank you..." he whispered before hesitatingly taking it. He drank the water silently and finished it in mere moments.

He put it down and stared at his hands. Everyone else just stood in place shuffling and looking around the room. Buttercup coughed.

Awkward.

At that moment, a loud crashing sound was heard followed by grumbling and cursing. Stomping echoed in the house and then suddenly Butch's head popped up in the doorway.

"Yo, hags! What's going on? Oh, and Prof. you better be grateful, I brought your car back!" He called out. Everyone was still silent.

"Um, woah, what happened? Did someone die?" He joked. Buttercup only shook her head.

"Yeah, ok, so hey Boomer!" Butch said and quickly walked over to his blonde brother. Said teen looked up at him and nodded.

"H-hello Butch..."

"Dude, what's wrong with everyone?" He grinned and ruffled Boomer's hair.

Still no reply.

"Ugh, come on! Someone tell me why it feels so awkward in here!" He shouted which made Boomer flinch.

"Hey moron, stop shouting." Brick glared. Butch huffed and only crossed his arms.

"I don't know what's up with you, but you need to cut it out man! Stop being such a nag!" Butch looked down at him. Brick stood up and grabbed his shirt by the collar.

"I really don't want to deal with this right now," he breathed.

"So what? You have such a short temper dude, you need to chill." Butch replied.

"Boys, please, don't start this now," the Professor moaned.

"Yeah you guys, cut it out," Blossom said.

"Stay out of this Pinky," Brick snapped. Blossom huffed and glared at him.

"Brick," Bubbles warned. Buttercup only walked forward and put a hand on her shoulder, signaling her to stay back. "Don't, let the idiots finish this themselves." She said.

"Finish what? All I know is that Brick is being a stupid asshole who needs to quit acting like he knows everything," Butch smirked at him. The professor didn't even bother to scold his language this time.

"Oh really? Well Butch is being an inconsiderate moron who doesn't know the meaning of 'think before you speak,'" Brick shot back.

"As if. You're the moron here. If you're gonna punch me, then do it. Don't be so weak," Butch said.

Boomer's eyes widened.

Brick glared and thought for a moment. Eventually, he sighed and let his hand down.

"Whatever, I don't want to deal with you right now," he conceded.

Butch scoffed and shrugged. "Whatever you say, leader-boy. Jeez," he said as he turned around, "No wonder you let Boomer get kidnapped."

Brick snapped. He let out a loud shout as he charged for Butch. He tackled the unsuspecting teen to the ground and punched him in the face.

"Shut up!" He yelled and punched him again. Brick's eyes were wide and just screamed in rage as he grabbed Butch's neck and snarled at him, "you didn't care either, all you wanted was the damn food!" He shouted. Everyone else just stepped back from them. The professor was about to intervene, but stopped and thought better of it when he saw how angry his super-powered son was. He looked at Blossom, but she only shook her head. He then looked to Buttercup who only shrugged. Bubbles was too busy hiding behind her raven haired sister. Boomer only stared with wide eyes.

"Don't you dare say I'm just some nag, and to say Boomer got caught because of me! You never did anything to help and you never cared even when he came back! I'm sick and tired of you constantly acting like a little kid! We aren't five anymore Butch! I don't-" He breathed, "I don't even know why we decided to stay, but it was the smartest thing we did. But you- you couldn't save him either." Brick's face had fallen and his mind reverted back to that first dream.

His lack of sleep the last couple nights finally got to him, but he knew what he said was the truth.

None of them could save him. He saved himself.

The room was silent except for Brick's ragged breathing. Everyone was frozen in place as Brick slowly started to stand up and then stormed out of the room. His slamming door was heard soon after.

Butch only lied on the floor and stared at the ceiling. After a moment, he too pushed himself up. His shoulders were sunk and his head was low, though you could still see the trace amounts of blood on his hands when he wiped his face. He paused, like he was going to say something, but then just walked out of the room. You could hear his door slam loudly that shook the walls.

Everyone just stood and stared at the doorway in shock. Everyone except Boomer who was staring numbly at his hands that were now turning white from how much he was gripping his jeans. Blossom turned to him, "Boomer-"

"G-Get out," he said. His eyes were lidded and his pupils were once again dilated as he trembled slightly.

Bubbles walked over to him with her hand out and said, "but Boomer-"

"Please just leave!" He cried out without looking at them. Everyone only looked at him in shock before slowly they all filtered out of the room and the Professor closed the door behind him.

Then it was just him.

Boomer could feel his head pulsing painfully and his heart was pounding in his chest. He could feel his blood rushing from his face as he started shaking in fear again.

 _Boomer,_ he heard a voice.

 _Boomer, are you ready to listen?_

"No," he said quietly.

 _But the longer you stay here, the worse things get~_

"I said _no_ ," he said again. The voice was really starting to anger him.

 _You know you should just listen to me. Just relax, and let me take things from here, like last time. It's awfully boring without some action-_

"I said NO!" Boomer yelled. The voice stopped.

Boomer groaned and felt his neck burn painfully and hissed. He held his hand to the bite mark and his lips trembled slightly. After a moment he lied back down and curled himself into a ball and shivered, trying to forget the all too familiar arguing, the shouting, the _silence._

The same words echoed in his mind.

 _Don't be so weak._

 _No wonder Boomer got kidnapped._

 _Shut up!_

 _HIM is pissed._

 _Tick Tock Boomer,_ the next voice was different from the other memories.

He actually _heard_ it.

 _I'm going to make sure you will never forget what's coming to you._

"Just let me forget," Boomer said to himself.

"Please, just let me forget just one time," and with that, he closed his eyes. A dark aura could be seen surrounding him, almost cradling him, and it was all stemming from the bite mark and his heart seemed the darkest part of the growing aura.

And then he forgot.


	10. School Is Already Terrifying

Groups of young students, all differing in one way or another whether it be race, skin, sex, etc., all littered the large campus. Some were running and tossing frisbees, letting them smoothly sail in the air before just barely catching it. Others were glued to their phones and walking carelessly as they bumped into others, their eyes and thumbs never leaving the small digital screen for a moment. Others just sat in the grass eating or reading or just talking to their friends. The picture-perfect high school. Not a single ounce of fear was evident.

Except, however, on a young blonde super-powered teens face. His electric blue eyes were wide and dilated already and his body was visibly shaking in barely contained terror. He held onto the straps of his backpack tightly as his eyes darted around quickly as they followed the movements of the roaming teenages.

"I-I d-don't know a-about th-this…" Boomer stuttered heavily. Bubbles giggled," don't worry Boomer! You have us, remember? You'll be fine!" She said as she latched herself onto his arm, effectively scaring the poor boy even more.

Buttercup rolled her eyes," listen kid, just don't cause any trouble. Also, if some stupid jerk-face here decides to give you crap, come tell me," she said. Boomer only gulped.

Brick's eyes twitched in annoyance on his otherwise emotionless face," come on, let's just go. We won't get anywhere if we just sit here." As he was saying this, Butch stood behind him doing mouth motions while he held up his hand and open and closed it in a mocking gesture. In the end, the noirette rolled his eyes and trudged over to his blonde brother.

"Hey Booms, come on!" Butch forced a grin as he grabbed his young brother by the arm and tugged him. Boomer flinched heavily before he immediately launched himself to the golden gate they were standing by and held onto it for dear life.

"Boomer!" Butch growled as him and Bubbled both tried to pull the boy by the legs and pry him from the gate, all to no avail.

"P-please! I-I c-can't do th-this!" Boomer cried out as he held on tighter against the pulling.

Blossom sighed at their antics as she walked over to Boomer and slightly crouched to his level." Boomer," she said," you have to. I know it's scary, but it's the only way we can keep an eye on you."

He shook his head rapidly as he bit his lip to keep it from trembling.

"Come on," Butch groaned," you've lived with the most disturbing and creepiest devil-tranny in the world, and yet high school is worse?"

Buttercup shrugged," seems legit."

Boomer tensed up but only breathed and nodded in understanding."W-Will, I still s-see y-you?" He asked.

Blossom smiled," absolutely. Remember, we have this all worked out with the school and the mayor so we can go to classes together."

Boomer nodded, loosening his arms from the gate and stood straight. His shoulders were tense as he only stared blankly at the ground. "O-Ok…" Blossom smiled at him.

"Alright then, let's go," she said as she put a hand on the blonde's shoulder and guided him back up to the group. Boomer slightly lifted his head and gulped again as he saw the campus. He lightly gripped Blossom's pink sweater, lips once again gnawing on chapped pink flesh.

They started walking and the reaction was almost immediate. Students caught a glimpse of Boomer and they all ran up to the group of superpowered teens. Boomer flinched back as several people crowded around him and Blossom, all asking questions or throwing suspicious glances.

"Hey!" Brick growled as he tried shoving back some of the rambunctious teens only to be ignored. He looked at his counterpart and quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. The ginger practically dragged the two and pushed their way through the crowd shouting at them to get lost.

"Dudes, seriously? Come on, get outta here!" Butch cried out as he sent several death glares at the students.

"They're teenagers, what do you expect?" Buttercup muttered as she dragged Butch roughly by the arm. They passed by Bubbles who was already nearly in tears again.

"Please, leave us alone!" Bubbles cried, but was ignored. More questions, more shoving, more everything. Bubbles looked to Boomer who was paling considerably with wide eyes as he looked every which way at the surrounding kids. He looked just as eager as the red-heads to escape.

She balled her fists and shook her head at the look and glared. She took a deep breath, puffed out her chest, and screamed.

" _Go away!"_ She screamed as she activated her sonic scream. Everyone instantly clutched their ears and kneeled with eyes shut. The scream pierced through the air and practically made the ground shake. People who heard it in the city ran, others had their shop windows cracking, others had dogs barking and cats screeching.

Eventually, after a moment, the high pitched shriek finally started to die down. After a moment, it finally disappeared completely as quickly as it had come. Bubbles was breathing heavily with tightly balled fists with her eyes slowly opened her sky blue eyes and looked around with confusion. After a moment, realization dawned on her and she blushed heavily.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" She said and waved her arms frantically and looked all around her with wide eyes. She already had tears in the corner of her eyes as she apologized over and over again.

All the students stood wearily, shot a look between the flustered girl and Boomer who carried a poker face, and walked away silently.

Eventually, only the small group of six remained in in front of the school's doors.

Blossom breathed and looked wearily at the others.

"Well, I guess that solved it."

Everyone mumbled as slowly started to walk forward as Boomer looked confused at the others. Bubbles ran up to them and tightly clung to Boomer's other arm and look at him with big watery eyes.

"Boomer, I'm so sorry! I hope that didn't scare you too!" She said and sniffled. Boomer blinked and tilted his head.

"W-what? You're s-scream? It wasn't really th-that loud, so w-why did everyone g-get s-scared like that?"

Bubbles blinked at him with curiosity and surprise." What? It's wasn't loud or high pitched?"

He shrugged," n-not really…. Th-though it d-did scare me a l-little…"

Bubbles opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the large high school doors being thrown open by a fuming Brick and glaring Butch. The blonde raised a brow at them but then sighed and shook her head.

They all walked through the doors and Blossom smiled slightly at the familiar smell of polished floors and febreeze.

"Well, time to get to class! Boomer, you have class with me first, alright? We have Geometry," she said. Boomer only nodded.

"Well, I'll see you guys later. Brick, Butch, don't kill each other," she said with a strict frown on her face, pink eyes just daring them to argue.

Brick looked away and Butch pouted." Yeah, yeah Blossy, we get it," Butch said. With that, the two left.

Bubbles smiled and waved goodbye and walked away and finally Buttercup did as well after she ruffled the blonde's hair saying, "good luck, kid."

He barely managed a small smile to the girl and waved goodbye. He then looked to Blossom who smiled.

"Alright Boomer, let's get to class. We don't want to be late!" She said and started walking down the hall, failing to notice Boomer's flinch. He shuddered but then walked with her, eyes trained on the floor.

He was still surprised how the Mayor had been so calm and happy to see the boy.

" _Well, well! Boomer, it sure is good to see you again! I thought you had gotten kidnapped, or mauled by bears, or robbed, or-" the Mayor spoke excitedly, but was cut off._

" _Actually," Blossom coughed," he kind of was taken against his will. Right, Boomer?" She asked._

 _Boomer jumped slightly as he had been more focused on the large, clean room he was in. Velvet red curtains, large windows that lit up the whole room from the sun shining in that afternoon, and stainless and perfect new red carpeting, and the much too large desk that the current, and bald, mayor sat at._

 _He gulped," u-um…" That was all he got out. Nice job, Boomer._

 _Bubbles giggled," don't worry, Boomie. The Mayor is nice!" She reassured, but only made Boomer sink lower into the expensive white chair he was in with a bright red blush on his cheeks._

" _R-right… Sorry…" he mumbled._

" _Well," Brick started," we want to know if we can bring Boomer to school," he said. The Mayor raised a brow before he grinned._

" _Well, of course! Everyone deserves an education!" He said and laughed. The teens all smiled._

" _Mr. Mayor, you may want to think about this," Ms. Bellum said as she laid a delicate hand on the elderly man's shoulder._

" _What? What do you mean, Ms. Bellum?" He asked._

" _Not to seem rude or anything, it's just that we need to make sure Boomer is, well, ok," she said. He looked confused._

 _She sighed." Boomer has been gone for a very long time, don't you think we need to test and make sure his mental capacity is enough? Or that maybe he won't be…. manipulated into doing anything? He only just returned," she explained. Butch growled._

" _So, what? Are you saying Boomer's crazy?" He accused._

 _Ms. Bellum raised her hands in defense." No, not at all! I care about Boomer just as much as you, but I also care about the town. Boomer may not know how to really behave in a school environment."_

 _Boomer frowned but understood."I-I understand M-Ms… I'm s-sorry for c-causing trouble…" he muttered and stood up to leave. You never question authority when you hear it._

" _Wait, Boomer," Ms. Bellum spoke. She gestured for the boy to come closer. Without hesitation, he walked forward with his eyes on the ground. He was surprised when she laid her hands on his shoulders._

" _I trust you Boomer, but not everyone else will. Will you promise that if something ever happens regarding any of the villains or your health that you'll tell us immediately?" She asked seriously, and even when the blonde couldn't see her eyes, he knew she was looking dead at him._

 _Slowly, he nodded._

 _Her thick lipstick coated lips spread into a trusting smile. He hated that._

" _Good. We'll let you go to school after we do a quick check on you and make you a citizen here," she said and stood up straight._

 _Boomer barely nodded, his eyes already losing focus as he was lost in thought._

Boomer sighed slightly as Blossom led him through the polished halls with banners and event posters hung up all over the walls.

He really hated it when the Ms. Bellum lady said she trusted him. The thought made him frown. Suddenly, he was then face first in Blossom's back and he grunted in confusion when he saw that the other girl had stopped. His heart sunk a little in fear when she stopped, but it was quickly replaced when she turned around and smiled warmly at him.

"We're here! Time for Geometry!"

He smiled and nodded at her, but he could barely hold himself from flying away at that very moment.

He already knew that school terrified him.


	11. First Day

The bell rang, signaling the start of the school day. Teenagers were chattering loudly, paper planes were being thrown across the room, and one boy was even beat-boxing in the corner, a bunch of his friends cheering and laughing.

Blossom grumbled something of annoyance under her breath before she grinned at Boomer, trying to reassure the nervous boy, who was shaking in his seat. His blue eyes darted back and forth from each student, confusion and uncertainty evident on his face.

"Boomer, try to relax. I know this is nerve-wracking for you, but don't worry. I'm sure they'll love you!" She claimed. It seemed that her positivity was infectious, as Boomer slowly breathed and then smiled at her after a moment.

"You're r-right, Blossom. Th-thanks…" Boomer breathed out. He opened his mouth to speak, but a slamming door quickly distracted him, and caught all the other students as well. Blossom had a brow raised and seemed to lack an understanding of the person who walked in.

A large, sunny young woman waltzed into the class. Her smile stretched across her face as she set a large bag down onto the white tiled floor by her oak desk. She brushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear into her curly ponytail.

She patted down her yellow sundress and beamed at her students.

"Hello everyone! How was your break?" Her voice was jolly and carried a slight echo. She was slightly put off by the lack of response, but shook it off. "My name is Mrs. Larson. I know you all must be confused, but I am sad to inform you all that your previous teacher has been relocated to Citysville High-" A chorus of groans and cheers wavered across the room, earning a confused look from Boomer.

"- and I will be your new teacher for the rest of the school year. Now, I guess I'll start off with learning all your names, alright? Let's start in the front." With that, she would point at each student, and direct them to state an interest and what they're most excited for for the year.

Eventually, after a few moronic answers and sarcastic replies, the time came for Blossom. The two teens were in the back, last to be called. The girl was thankful for the lack of assigned seating.

She stood up straight and she stuck her chest out in confidence. She looked the teacher in the eye and introduced herself. "My name is Blossom Utonium, and my interests include studying and piano. I am extremely excited to beat Brick and Bubbles at chemistry this year."

The teacher lightly clapped her hands at the redheads response. "Great introduction, Miss Blossom! I am eager to teach you this year. And good luck in chemistry." She winked at the last part. Blossom nodded and sat back down in her seat.

Mrs. Larson glanced now at the blonde to Blossom's right, who was now sinking in his seat, face flushed. She smiled warmly.

"Alright young man, please stand and introduce yourself," her voice carried no authority or demand at all, which seemed to make his shoulders relax slightly. Blossom put a hand on his thigh and a small smile graced her lips at the boy. He sighed and with clattering knees, stood from his seat. He had a hand crossed over and holding onto his elbow, his slightly gapped front teeth biting at his lip, and his eyes were focused on the floor.

"M-my name is B-B-Boomer Jo-Utonium, and, um…" his voice broke slightly and trailed off the end as a look of concentration marred his face. The teacher nodded, urging him to continue.

"And what do you like? Sports maybe? Or maybe drawing?" She listed examples, hoping to maybe put the shivering boy at ease.

He thought for another moment before he looked back up at the woman.

"I, um, I really like to draw… and play games... " Boomer's face lit up as he seemed to remember something.

"And I like the stars, and, um, p-pancakes…" A few students snickered, and Boomer briefly wondered if her had said something wrong. However, the calm look from the teacher and Blossom reassured him to continue.

"A-and I guess I'm looking forward to… going home," he deadpanned. Instantly the silence of the room was shattered and the other teenagers were laughing and hollering in agreement to the blonde, who was surprised as he sat down at the (positive?) reaction.

Blossom nudged Boomer as she laughed to herself, and the teacher only chuckled.

"Well, I'm sure we can all agree with that. Now, why don't we really start class. I'll pass out my syllabus to you all and we can go over what you've learned for the year."

After that, the class seemed to run smoothly, and Boomer found himself finding interest with the set of rules. His chest loosened when he saw what he was instructed to do, and even used some new highlighters from his bag to go over what he thought was especially important.

The period was spent going over procedures and then re-teaching anything that may have proved confusing from before the break. Of course, Boomer raised his hand to almost every problem or section, making a student groan occasionally, but after a glare from Blossom made any protests end. Mrs. Larson was eager to teach the boy everything she knew, and even passed out some extra study sheets to him, which made him even more comfortable.

Eventually the bell rang, alerting to the class that it was time to go. Boomer was still packing away some bags when he suddenly felt colder. He looked up and froze when he felt an odd feeling of being watched. Sure enough, a group of students were crowding his desk, effectively making the boy almost jump from his seat.

"Hey, are you that one kid from the news?" A brunette girl asked. One boy grinned in excitement.

"Cool! What was it like being trapped and stuff?" He asked.

"Shut up! What if he ran away?" A redhead huffed out.

The teens started asking him questions and laughing with each other, and Boomer was ready to just hide in his seat when a cold hand gripped his shoulder tight and yanked him away. He barely kept a hold on his bag as he was snatched from the group. He saw Blossom who was pouting and glaring at the teens before she grabbed his hand and ran from the room.

"Sorry about that Boomer. I bet that was only a rather tame group, don't be too surprised if you get mowed over for the next month by fans." She sighed and grimaced.

Boomer blinked as they walked to the next class, which was… English. He sighed, catching his friend's attention.

"Boomer? What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "I was never really good at spelling… this won't be a strong class for me…" he groaned to which she laughed.

"Hey, don't worry! I'm sure it'll be fine. You were a kid then, you weren't expected to have perfect grammar! Luckily, I'll be with you for this class too, but I won't for art, which is after this. But Bubbles will help you!" She explained.

Boomer nodded to her and they both arrived to the classroom. The seats were placed at different black tables, indicating groups, instead of the row of desks in geometry.

Boomer and Blossom both sat in a middle table and unpacked their things. Blossom was about to greet the teacher who was sitting at their desk typing away, when she was stopped by a familiar face.

"Robin!" Blossom's face instantly lit up. She stood and hugged her shorter brunette friend, the two girls now giggling. When they separated, Robin was quick to spot the blonde behind them.

"Boomer," she grinned, sticking out her hand, "it's nice to finally meet you! I'm Robin!" Boomer looked at the hand in confusion before hesitantly accepting the gesture. He offered a small smile in greeting and they let go. Robin turned back to Blossom with an expression of hesitation.

"Hey, um, is it alright if I sit with you guys? None of my friends are really in this class, and you know how awkward it can be sitting alone." Blossom brightened and pulled back an empty chair to her left.

"No prob Rob! Go ahead." Once Robin sat down, the two were immediately chatting and laughing together about their break and fun stories. Boomer just sat back and closed his eyes, trying to calm his racing heart.

Class would have been considered interesting, or boring by most. However, to Boomer, nothing was more terrifying. The blonde struggled constantly to even get simple spelling right when they had to write a small poem about their break. Blossom made sure to help the poor boy every chance she got. However, the teacher had taken note of how much, or little, he knew about the subject.

The students were given the chance to read their poems if they wanted, and then the teacher, Ms. Cameron, issued a new set of workbooks to the students for the semester.

Boomer was just writing his name in his workbook when the teacher stopped by his desk and slipped a piece of paper on his desk and walked away. He took the parchment and looked at it, Blossom looming over his shoulder.

"Oh…" Blossom breathed and tried to smile. "Hey, tutoring isn't that bad. I mean, I can help you study! You'll get the hang of it in no time!" She patted him on the back and Boomer just sighed in resignation.

After that period of pure torture (to Boomer) the teens were heading to their next class. Boomer was trembling again with Robin and Blossom rubbing his back laughing nervously as they stood in the busy halls. Students pushed and shoved past, eyes blank and already devoid of life. Blossom cringed.

"Hey, let's get you to art. Though, my next class is on the opposite side of the school…" The redhead trailed off with a frown. Robin gave her a thumbs up as they backed away from Boomer.

"Don't worry Bloss, I can take him to art. I have it next, so you just get to your class."

Blossom gave Boomer a hesitant look. "Boomer, are you alright with that? I'm sure you know Robin is super nice." She hated the thought of the anxious boy having to follow a stranger, but…

He nodded in understanding as he gripped his backpack straps. "O-of course, Blossom. I'll s-see you at lunch?" He mumbled out and she nodded.

With a quick goodbye she was gone and the two quickly headed to art.

Boomer and Robin were immediately greeted by Bubbles who looked ready to burst, what with all her shaking and wide eyes. She ran over and hugged her counterpart tight, introducing him to the teacher, who was equally pleased to meet him.

The boy was quickly set up with a canvas and given instructions to work on a painting of his choice, so long as it isn't plagiarized. The class has a total of a week and he was put to work between the two girls in the spacious room.

Bubbles giggled when he peeked at her paint set. She was already blending and mixing colors, creating a rainbow that oddly calmed his nervous heart.

"You like my colors? I wanna make the biggest and brightest rainbow ever!" She beamed and he simply nodded. He looked over and Robin was drawing out a base on hers.

"I'm just going to try a natural base, preferably a nice large tree here," she smiled. The brunette and blonde were back to focusing on their painting and Boomer felt his shoulders slump in thought.

What would be good enough to paint? He wasn't terribly familiar with forests or cities, or even animals. He pictured his… home? And imagined what he liked especially much there. Food? Those pancakes were pretty delicious… His bed? Too detailed (but still so, so comfy).

He got it. He remembered that one night - which is now quite frequent- of climbing onto the roof in the early morning and viewing either what the Professor calls a sunset, or the stars, depending on how much sleep he managed to get.

Although, he did rather like the stars. They were out that night not too long ago as he sat with everyone outside to celebrate the new year. Flashes and balls of light had exploded before his wide eyes, and though he was admittedly scared at first at the sudden sounds, he found he liked that quite a bit.

Boomer smiled softly as he looked at his choices and determined that he would be able to paint such a calming scenery.

He took a breath and started.

…

People were too loud. Too, too loud.

Boomer struggled to keep his composure as Bubbles and Robin walked him into the cafeteria, and any appetite that he may have had instantly disappeared the moment they came in. Teenagers shouting, some chucking food at the tables across from them, others shoving and pushing themselves into much too long lines.

Boomer paled and froze. Too many people. Too much sound. Bubbles saw his reaction and frowned slightly. She tightened her grip on his hand, trying to offer as much comfort as she could.

"Boomie, it's ok if you don't want to stay in here. This must make you a bit nervous," she conferred. Boomer looked down and nodded very slightly, teeth back to biting his lip again. She gave a final squeeze to his hand and smiled gently before waving Robin over.

Before she left, Bubbles remembered to ask. "Boomie, where will you be? I'll grab some lunch for you."

The boy thought for a moment and barely mumbled out his reply. "Outside…" With that, he turned around and briskly left, grateful for the relieving feeling of being out of the crowded food area.

He stopped in the hall and slouched against one of the green lockers (which seemed to mostly be there for decoration, if anything) and took a few deep breaths. He shut his eyes and pictured the house he was residing in. Furnished home, warm residents, good food…

His heartbeat calmed and he felt as if he could stand again. He opened his eyes and was thankful to see no one had seemed to cross his path while he was calming down.

He felt a sharp pain in his neck and idly scratched at it, not caring so much for the ache but for it's overall annoyance.

His eyes glazed slightly before the focused again as he looked for the door outside. He found it and immediately headed out. The cool air was welcome and set his mood back into a fairly positive one. The crisp winter air was soothing on his heated skin, though it did make his body tense slightly.

He remembered being in the cold before. His mind briefly flashed to an old memory, similar to a hundred year old piece of parchment; too old and too dusty to really make out any details.

Snow, and… laughing. Not the laughing he hears now though, but not from

either. Familiar laughing that made his stomach lurch.

And… he remembered crying.

He saw grass again and even himself realized he was shaking again, legs buckling. He collapsed on the grass and continued to breath and he felt a small headache.

This was going to be harder than he thought.

"Boomie!" He looked back up and was glad and terrified to see Bubbles along with the other four.

Butch grinned at him and sent a peace sign while Buttercup ran over to the slouching male.

"'Sup blondie!" The raven greeted. She sat down by him with her tray and began devouring it like a starving animal. In kinder words, he was slightly disgusted.

The rest of the group sat down by him, making their greetings as well before eating. Bubbles handed Boomer his tray as well.

He looked up as a final person sat down, and his chest lightened in an instant. He felt a smile already crawl itself on his face as he said a quiet hello to Brick. The redhead simply nodded to him and began eating, avoiding any and all contact with Butch.

The blonde frowned at this, but decided it best to leave them be for now. It wasn't his place after all…

He then finally took a look at his tray. It seemed to be… wait, he knew this food…

"Pizza?" He breathed aloud before he picked it up, inspecting the melted slice of cheese, grease, and meat.

"Dude, please tell me you remember what that is," Butch deadpanned to which his brother nodded.

Boomer experimentally sniffed it before he felt his stomach growl. He blushed slightly at the familiarity before he immediately shoved the pie into his mouth.

He remembered this food. So well.

He finished his plate as soon as it had come, his friends also just finishing. He felt his blue eyes water for a moment before he forced them away.

Now he can have pizza with his brothers as much as he likes. He frowned.

For as long as he has time.

History was actually not that bad for Boomer. Lunch had gone without much incident, and this class seemed relatively calm. No students bombarded him, and he managed to avoid any odd or curious glances.

In fact, he found himself rather enjoying this class. He was able to sit with Buttercup and the girl's laid back personality helped ease him slightly. Plus, she wasn't Butch, so he didn't need to feel very awkward.

Buttercup managed to show him the ropes and found a study guide or two for the boy to look at. Boomer nodded in appreciation.

"You know," she started when the teacher wasn't looking, "I'm surprised they're letting you into high school so soon. You don't have an early education, yet you're in an AP class." She idly spoke, trying to balance a pencil on her nose. Boomer only shrugged as a response. He had no idea how the school system worked.

The class was fairly relaxing and the blonde was interested in certain historical aspects of the world, especially once he found out about the existence of other heroes in the world.

He thinks he'll like this class.

Chemistry was cold. Cold like it was snowing. Boomer tensed slightly but then felt slightly relaxed again at the well known feeling. That, and he spotted Brick and Bubbles.

He smiled at them when he caught up (not without saying goodbye to Buttercup first). They were eager to see him as well.

Brick walked him over to their table and helped him get ready. Bubbles just continued to chatter and converse with them and other classmates.

"You're going to love this class I bet! Blossy doesn't know how we do it, but we're really good at chemistry! Oh, do you like the elements? They're super cool because some of them go in things like nail polish and stuff and- oh! I should teach you to style your hair! Can I Boomie? Can I cut your hair?" She started rambling more as she picked at his blonde hair.

He had no idea how to respond.

After she had gone to get her own books out, Brick noticed his brother biting his lip.

"Hey." He caught the blonde's attention.

"Don't worry about this place. I know you're nervous, but you still have at least one of us in all your classes. It won't be so hard with everyone with you." He tried to sound as calming as possible.

Boomer nodded at him and they sat down, ready for the class to start.

…

He's fought countless enemies. He was forced to deal with an odd multiple personality (who was actually getting really impatient). He had to live with the devil for pete's sake!

Yet, nothing in his whole life compared to the complications of Chemistry.

Brick and oddly enough Bubbles were doing very well and immediately picked up the new lesson, though Boomer was already having trouble with understanding elements.

The newest lesson was freezing and boiling points mixed with stoichiometry. He wanted to die.

Though the teen was thankful he was never called on. He would probably fly out of the class if that happened. What if he got a question wrong? What if his 'attitude' made the teacher angry?

He didn't want to think about this anymore.

It was safe to say he was all too eager for the last class, which was gym.

Brick guided him there and they talked the whole way, the blonde feeling more comfortable. They walked in, and Boomer instinctively tensed up.

His eyes widened and he gripped Brick's arm and turned to him.

"W-what is this r-room?" He asked. He could already feel his stomach flipping over. Brick sent him an odd look but shook it off as he answered.

"This is the gym. It's just where we play sports and all that." He said and he continued to guide, er drag, Boomer to the locker room.

The boy was ready to panic at the unrecognizable word. He was only with the phrase killing for sport, but somehow that just didn't seem to fit.

Once they walked in, dozens of male teens were already throwing off clothes and getting dressed into uniforms. Boomer felt a pang of… something, when he thought of his old uniform. He kind of wanted it back, but he couldn't pinpoint why.

He caught sight of Butch and he walked over. The raven was tying his shoes but upon looking up grinned heavily and slapped his blonde brother on the back.

"What's up, Booms'?" He completely ignored the presence of Brick, who also did likewise. The redhead reached his locker and started undressing. Boomer would have been confused, but remembered that during lunch Brick had warned him previously that he was going to have to wait to get his uniform.

So, the blonde only stood awkwardly until Butch wrapped an arm around his shoulder and sauntered themselves out.

Once again they were in the large space, and Boomer couldn't bring himself to hear Butch's words as they walked right down a large flight of stairs that led to the spacious court.

"B-Butch," he hadn't noticed he cut the other off. "W-what kind of t-training happens in these s-sports?" He stuttered.

Butch thought for a moment before he started laughing loudly, which only confused the other more.

"Hey bud, don't worry. Sports are just fun stuff, like basketball, or baseball. Though today I think it's dodgeball…" He wondered and looked around at the other teens filling the court. Brick quickly caught up to them and gave them and unreadable look.

The coach came out and blew his whistle.

"Alright buckos, why don't we greet the new semester with a good ol' game of dodgeball?" His voice was gruff but he seemed young enough with a slightly portly body and goatee. Boomer momentarily wondered how strong normal humans were as he saw them all cheer and get picked off on teams.

The coach saw him and smiled as he placed him of the same team as Brick, but rival with Butch. He had no idea what was going on.

The coach thought of this it seemed as he placed the small, foamy colorful balls on the court between the two teams.

"The aim is to throw a ball and try to get the rivaling team members out. You can hit your foes with the ball as long as it is above the waist." A few girls shot sly looks at the boys who all just appeared uncomfortable as they fidgeted.

"If someone catches your ball then the one who threw it is out," he straightened up and watched them from the side of the court.

"No dirty moves and no giving yourself up for someone who is out." With that, he blew the whistle.

The game began, and they all stampeded towards the dodgeballs. Boomer only paused and observed as some already started throwing balls at each other.

Some dodged well and other got hit pretty quickly.

Brick and Butch seemed to be targeting each other, while another boy who seemed to be friends with Butch aimed out Brick as well. He had sandy brown hair and freckles… how familiar.

Boomer continued to watch before someone shouted out at him to get moving.

Boomer stiffened and found himself listening to the command. He felt comfortable now.

He reached down and found a stray ball. His eyes darted quickly to the group of teens raiding each other.

He found one girl who was throwing as many as she could. That would be a problem.

He breathed, aimed, and threw. Down with one hit.

The girl held her stomach as she walked to her friends who were out and Boomer barely spared another glance as he continued to find and throw balls.

The game continued for quite a while. He felt a tightening in his stomach as their numbers dwindled. His teammates had noticed his ease with the game and were cheering him on as it became him, Brick, and one other girl. The other side remained with Butch, the boy, and three more teammates.

Three balls were flying in his direction and he dodged each with practiced ease. This 'game' was far too simple.

He felt it again. And heard it. The voice. He tried to shake it off as it got more prominent the more their rivals dodged his team's throws.

He dodged another hit. He look back at a cry of pain and saw that their female comrade was hit. She held her cheek and sent a sorrowful look at him as she walked away. Students were screaming now, chanting for their remaining players.

He dodged again, and rather than grab the ball, he observed more, analyzing each player. Butch was quick, but relied more on brute strength. He seemed more focused on getting Brick out, as well as that other boy. The other opponents were focused between him and Brick, but realized later that Brick was a better bet when all their efforts were put on him.

He saw it. He reached out and tried to warn him, but his voice broke and nothing came out. A dodgeball from Butch was chucked and assaulted his brother's head, knocking him to the ground. It was harder than normal since Butch had thrown it, so he held his head in pain.

The coach sent him a look, but Brick waved him off and stood up. Boomer went to check on him, but Brick sent him a glare, demanding he stay put and finish the game. He understood.

He sensed another ball and his hand acted before his brain. He caught it. One student out.

He looked back and threw it with precision. Another kid out.

Two more balls, one caught and the other dodged. He threw and hit. Not once had he missed yet. Three left.

Butch growled and threw another ball, to which Boomer ducked. He found another lone ball on the ground and continued to aim out the weaker pawns. That student was out.

The brunette with freckles glared and threw two dodgeballs he had in his hands. Boomer barely flinched as he caught the one headed for his face and also caught the other one headed for his stomach.

He barely tossed one at the brunette and yet he still couldn't dodge. And he seemed in pain as he stumbled to his fallen friends.

He threw again and Butch dodged. He didn't like this. He felt he was attacking his brother.

He stiffened and all of a sudden he was back to the room. The layout seemed fake, this gym, but he could hear the dark chuckles behind him as he sought out his prey. He avoided each attack sent at him and he felt his eyes dull slightly again as he felt pain in his neck.

" _Keep going Boomer,"_ he couldn't deny the voice no matter how much his body wanted to.

He heard someone call his name as he grabbed another ball. His opponent backed away slightly and appeared confused. He lifted a hand and spoke, but Boomer couldn't hear him. His eyes locked on him.

His hand raised high and back and he threw it with about 40% but the other didn't jump out of the way. He got hit in the head. He wanted to stop, but another voice voiced egged him on.

"Finish it! You know that's what has to be done~"

He hated that voice, but not as much as the chuckling still echoing behind him.

He picked up another ball and threw it again. It hit Butch in the stomach. Again. In the face. Another. In the chest.

He heard more calling but his frustration increased as he gripped his neck, aiming again. His prey had fallen to the ground, scratching his head in confusion.

More dull aching.

His hearing was muffled.

Everything was fake. None of this… stupid gymnasium was real, right? He looked down and saw his normal uniform. His heart slowed at the sight.

He raised his arm, ready for another attack. He was ready, dying to get the pain away, pleading for the laughing to stop. It drowned out any other sound.

He fell to the ground. He was shaking. Why was he shaking? None of this made sense…

More dull screaming. The room seemed darker. Was there people here? He didn't remember seeing anyone in the room. Though he felt as if he were pinned.

The feeling of being restrained send a cold shiver of fear and panic down his spine and he instantly whimpered and shoved at the force against him.

He looked over. He escaped.

Oh no…

He was in trouble. He couldn't finish it, right?

"Hm. Looks like you're still fighting it. Let's see what happens next time."

And all of a sudden the pain in his neck went away and his hearing returned. The room brightened and he could focus on the person who was suddenly above him.

Wasn't he just playing the game…? But wasn't he training?

His mind was scrambled as the redhead above him pulled him up and other kids surrounded the two.

His mind was hazy and he couldn't speak as he was dragged back into a standing position.

The redhead and raven looked at him in worry, but he still couldn't quite focus on who they were. He felt a surge of… anger? No. Though he felt unpleasant looking at them.

His eyes remained glazed as he was helped back to the locker rooms.

What was happening?


End file.
